Lost Legends
by The Angel and The Muse
Summary: It was just another boring day at Forks High School, until the new girl walked in and turned Edward Cullen's life upside down. Can they help each other find what they didn't know they were looking for? Written for the FGB Author Auction. Edward x Buffy
1. Chapter 1

****THIS STORY WAS ORIGINALLY POSTED UNDER OUR INDIVIDUAL FFn ACCOUNTS, BUT IS NOW BEING MOVED HERE. WE WILL BE DELETING THE COPIES UNDER AngelGoddess1981 AND maniacalmuse AS SOON AS WE ARE SURE ALL OUR READERS HAVE FOUND THIS NEW LOCATION FOR THE STORY. IF YOU ARE READING LOST LEGENDS FOR THE FIRST TIME, PLEASE ALERT/ FAVORITE/ REVIEW THE STORY UNDER THIS ACCOUNT (The Angel and The Muse) AS THIS IS WHERE THE STORY WILL RESIDE PERMANENTLY. THANK YOU!****

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both. **

**This story is dedicated to the wonderfully generous AngelinaBallerina17, who donated to Alex's Lemonade Stand through the Fandom Gives Back auction and scored herself the first ever AngelGoddess1981/ maniacalmuse collaboration! Thanks for supporting such a wonderful cause, Sherri! We sincerely hope this story is everything you wanted it to be! :)**

**We consider this story take place ****pre-Twilight and during BtVS Season 3, between Episodes 2-4. All characters and characteristics are as closely canon as we could make them. As you're reading, consider what Buffy and Edward have to offer each other, and how their meeting at this point might affect their futures as SM and JW originally wrote them. **

**Enjoy! **

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**_(Edward) _**

I couldn't believe that this was my life. Or, existence, I supposed. Considering my heart hadn't beat in over a century, I sincerely doubted what I did could be considered "living".

I endured.

Seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, and years passed...and I was simply there. Not alive, but not dead either.

It was a morbid thought, I'd admit...but the truth was: death would have been a blessing. A near impossibility for one such as me, but a welcome alternative to the purgatory I was forced to suffer now.

High School...

...for almost the ninetieth year in a row.

Yes, if I could die, I would. Death couldn't possibly be worse than this.

I pulled my car into its usual spot in the Forks High parking lot and stepped out into the cold drizzle of a fall day in the Pacific Northwest. It was Monday, and the school grounds were already overflowing with students eager to find their friends and discuss their weekend exploits. Nobody cared about the light rain as they stood about and chatted; it was actually kind of a nice day by comparison.

I tried to let my mind go blank as I made my way through the crowds, but I couldn't help overhearing some of the gossip...both with my ears and in my head. Sure, reading minds could be a useful talent, but for the most part it was just annoying. People were all the same on the inside...sex, money, power, possessions...the more the better. And when they weren't thinking about how to get these things for themselves, they were either admiring or detesting another for having them. It seemed that today would be no different, either. The buzz was centered around a new senior student...a girl from California...Buffy Summers.

_Buffy_. Really?

My curiosity piqued, I scanned the minds of those I was passing, hoping to catch a glimpse of this new girl and put a face to the unusual name. I finally lucked out in Tyler Crowley's head, ignoring his lewd thoughts about her body and instead focusing on her blonde hair and bright smile.

She was admittedly attractive, though I usually preferred brunettes, but even in Tyler's memory there was a wisdom in her sparkling eyes that surprised me. She looked like she had seen more from life in eighteen years than most people would if they lived a hundred years.

_Not unlike myself_, I thought wryly. In all this time I had encountered more than my share of hardship, pain, suffering, and death. Though, if I was being honest, I would have to admit that I'd dealt out my fair share, too. I tried not to remember those days...they depressed me.

As I made my way into the Biology classroom, I wondered if this new girl's maturity came from a difficult upbringing, or if it was simply borne into her. I doubted the latter; people who were naturally responsible, caring and considerate were more than hard to come by.

I had just dropped my backpack onto the empty tabletop beside my chair when it occurred to me that for the first time in...well, maybe ever...I was actually _thinking_ about a human. A human _girl_, even. Normally I couldn't care less about the comings and goings of their lives, but something about her genuinely intrigued me...and I hadn't even met her in person yet.

That kind of freaked me out. I resented my pathetic excuse for a "life", but at the same time I had grown comfortable in it. I had accepted who I was, or more accurately, what I had become, and did my best with the hand I was dealt. I was bored, yes, but I was also secure.

Suddenly things were feeling...off, though. It was eerie. If I were able to get goosebumps, I was sure they would have been be prickling up my spine right now.

Before I could contemplate this new development any further, though, our teacher strode into the room and dumped a stack of books and papers on top of his desk. The loud 'thud' got everyone's attention and the class went quiet.

"Good morning," he said distractedly, but then he looked up and added, "Hat off, Mr. Newton. Gum in the garbage, Ms. Mallory."

Lauren sighed exasperatedly as her chair scraped across the floor and she stomped to the front of the room, glaring at Mr. Banner as she spit the disgusting wad into the wastebasket.

I held back an eye roll and pulled out my textbooks, just wanting to get today over and done with so I could go home and do anything else. This really was my hell on earth.

"Okay, we have a new student joining us today, so we'll just give her a minute to finish up her registration before we get started. She should be here any second," Mr. Banner informed us.

The class instantly burst into hushed chatter and giggles while I wondered why a senior would be taking a junior level Biology class, but my musings were quickly interrupted by a soft knock on the door.

"Ah, here she is. Ms. Summers, welcome. You can take a seat there beside Mr. Cullen."

Startled, and strangely nervous, I pulled my bag over to my side of the desk and watched as she made her way into the room.

She thanked Mr. Banner and strode confidently toward me, but then abruptly stopped in her tracks. My insides prickled as her back went rigid and her eyes darted around the room, the one word I least expected suddenly echoing through her head.

"_Vampire."_

Holy shit, she knew.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	2. Chapter 2

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

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_**(Buffy)**_

This was not how I pictured my little trip would go.

I woke up this morning dreaming of tank tops, mini-skirts, and open-toed sandals, but instead had to bundle up in jeans, a blue v-neck sweater and a pair of low heels before I grabbed my file folder with my transcripts in it and headed off to school…in another town.

Hell, I was in another state.

It was my senior year and I had been transferred here to attend class while I hunted a rogue vampire that bested me a few days ago. Both Giles and my mother insisted that if I were going to follow its trail of corpses out of Sunnydale that I at least had to keep up my classes while I was away, especially since they didn't know how long I would be gone. Giles would pick up the slack in Sunnydale and I would shift my focus here.

Forks, Washington.

I hated the cold. I lived in California for a reason.

My morning was no different than any other new day. In fact, I had just been through this after moving to Sunnydale from Los Angeles my freshman year. Students stopped and stared at me like I was a caged animal at the zoo. The girls all pointed and glared and I was vain enough to know that they all just felt threatened by the new fish in their tiny pond. The boys were all friendly enough…they always were, though.

I made my way through the crowds after going to the registration office and getting my classes in order. It didn't take long to find my way to my Biology classroom. When I entered I was met with the giggles and stares of my new classmates.

I knew that running away at the end of my junior year would come back to bite me in the ass some day. When I had returned, I was told that I would have to make up the remainder of my junior year before I could even think of graduating alongside my friends. As if school wasn't already wicked-hard for me, now I would have to work twice as hard. Not to mention the humiliation of being a senior in a junior class. Great.

Mr…_Banner, was it?_...introduced me to the class and instructed me to take a seat next to a Mr. Cullen.

My eyes scanned the room for the available seat and I made my way toward the table. The hottie seated there slid his bag across the table to make room for me.

Suddenly, the air around me crackled and hummed. _Vampire._ Every one of my senses was alight with…well, I wasn't quite sure. Usually it was danger, but this felt different to me somehow. All I knew was that there was a vampire in the room.

I stopped where I stood and scanned the crowd, looking for any tell tale sign as to who it was. Everyone stared back at me as though I was a mental patient who had just escaped from solitary confinement. A vampire _and_ judgement from my peers...just what I needed on my first day.

_I'm a pro. I can do this._

I forced a friendly smile onto my face and took my seat. Mr. Cullen seemed uneasy as I sat down next to him.

I offered him a smile and he returned it nervously. I pulled out my books and tried to listen to the air hum around me so I could single out the vampire, but something was seriously wrong with my spidey-senses. There was no describing just how upset I was beginning to get. I could _feel _the vampire was close…but something seemed so off.

My partner twitched in his seat. My head snapped toward him and he was looking at me…_really_ looking at me. I smoothed out my hair, thinking that maybe I had a flyaway or something, but he looked at me even harder after that. I had to turn around to see if maybe he was looking _past_ me. There was nothing behind me of interest, though. It _had_ to be me.

The way he was staring had me wondering if I had suddenly sprouted two extra heads out of my shoulders. Though, if we were in Sunnydale, that actually wouldn't be too surprising. Sometimes I really loathed living above the world's most powerful Hellmouth. Mr. Cullen leaned back in his chair and I couldn't help but look at him again. Damn, he was pretty. His features were sharp and his skin was flawless. I had the strongest urge to run my fingers across his forehead and down his cheek. _Whoa, down girl_. I really had to stop focusing so hard on my neighbour and get back to the why's of the current vampire situation.

I didn't get it. It was _daytime_. Why was it out? And in a crowded school, no less… Massacre? No. It would have done away with everyone by now. No mercy. Why would it take this risk?

My brain tried to find a reason for the vampire's carelessness and was coming up empty each time. They were creatures of habit and very rarely broke their own rules…the first one being no sun or _poof_...dusted.

I wasn't prepared for this at all. I mean, as the Slayer I was always ready to fight to the death against the bloodsucking undead...but I didn't have any of my weapons with me. It was the middle of the freaking day, for crying out loud.

Cullen shifted in his seat nervously again. What was this guy's trauma? He seemed a little wiggy to me. Though, I had to admit, something about him intrigued me in a way that I hadn't been since…I had to stop myself before I even thought his name. I shuddered at the memory of his pained face as I sent himto hell, fresh tears prickling my eyes. Pushing the memories down into the abyss where they belonged, I was able to quell the tears. There was no sense dredging up my past demons…literally.

_Get it together, Buffy. There's more important things to deal with here...like figuring out who this vampire is and why it's here._

Out of nowhere my partner shot up out of his seat and bolted from the room, apologizing to Mr. Banner on his way out.

Weird.

Waves of shock hit my body from all sides as my senses went numb. The threat was gone. A tiny gasp escaped me as I stared blankly at the open door.

Noooooo.

I blinked several times and couldn't believe that I was sitting so close to it and it didn't occur to me. My breathing picked up and I realized that I had to look into this as soon as possible. I looked out the window to my left to see my vampire lab partner running, at human speed, to a silver car before looking directly up at me and speeding off in the rain.

He must have been able to sense me. That had _never_ happened to me before.

There was nothing I could do right now but wait. I tried to focus on the class that was going on around me, but I couldn't get over the fact that I was close enough to stake it and I had no clue. What was wrong with me? I knew, without a doubt, that I would be patrolling tonight, but I was hoping to only be stalking one creature of the night, not two.

Or were there even more?

I had a feeling I was in store for a real treat.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	3. Chapter 3

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

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**_(Edward)_**

The floorboards shook and the pictures rattled on the walls as I slammed the front door behind me.

"Carlisle? Carlisle!!" I called out in a panic.

His worried thoughts rang through my head before his hurried footsteps caught up to them.

"Edward? What is it? What's going on?" he asked, appearing at the top of the stairs and looking down at me. His already ashen face seemed to pale even further as he took in my agitated state.

"She knows! I don't know how, but she _knows_!" I said frantically.

"Whoa, whoa...slow down, Edward. Who knows what?"

"The new girl," _Shit, what was her name again?_ "Buffy! Buffy Summers! She knows that I'm a vampire!"

Carlisle was down the stairs in a flash, gripping my shoulders as his amber eyes bore into mine.

"Are you sure?" he asked, his calm voice and steady hands belied by his tumultuous thoughts.

"Yes! I heard it clear as day in her head the second she walked into the room! I don't know how she knows, Carlisle, but she _does_!"

"Okay," Carlisle said, taking a step back from me and raking his fingers through his hair. "We need to talk this through before we do anything rash. We don't want to alarm the others unnecessarily. Come on...my office."

I raced after him as he took off up the stairs and made a quick right turn into the second room down the hall. Motioning for me to sit in one of the brown leather wing-back chairs opposite his desk, Carlisle paced back and forth a few times before stopping in front of the window and staring down into the trees.

He took a few deep breaths before he spoke. "Tell me exactly what happened. From the beginning," he said quietly.

I leaned forward in my seat and dropped my forehead into my hands, trying to get a grip on my memory. My head was spinning like a carnival ride and everything seemed hazy and blurred as I tried to recall it.

"I... I was in class. Biology. Um...Mr. Banner...Mike, and Lauren's gum...then she came in. Ms. Summers. Uh, Buffy."

"Okay," Carlisle said carefully. "So who is this Buffy?"

"She's um, a transfer student from somewhere in California. A senior, but for some reason she was in my class. I...I'm not sure why."

"I see," Carlisle replied. "Go on."

I closed my eyes and tried to picture her as she walked toward our lab table. "Mr. Banner told her to come sit by me, so she started down the aisle but then stopped and went all...rigid. That's when I heard it in her mind..._vampire_. I didn't say or do anything and she just...knew. It was so strange."

"_A sixth sense for vampires. Interesting..."_

I looked up as Carlisle's musings ran through my head, but he continued to face the window, unaware or unconcerned that I had heard. I waited for him to say something - or think something - more, wondering if he had any more ideas about what this meant. I certainly had no clue...and that annoyed me. What good was it being an insufferable know-it-all, as I was so fondly referred to by my family, if I didn't actually know everything? I hated that this situation had caught me so off guard.

"_Please continue," _Carlisle thought suddenly, breaking me out of my personal reflections.

A small smile played on my lips and I snorted under my breath. Of course he knew I could hear him, we 'talked' like this all the time. It was ridiculous for me to have wondered it at all.

"Well, she stopped and looked around the classroom, but now that I think on it, she didn't focus on me directly. She actually looked kind of...unsure."

"Really?" Carlisle said aloud.

"Yeah," I replied, opening my eyes to meet his contemplative gaze.

"So, she knew there was a vampire in the room, but we can't say for certain that she knew it was you?"

"Huh. I guess not." I let out a breath for the first time I could remember since fleeing the classroom. It was a good thing I didn't actually _need_ to breathe or I probably would have passed out a long time ago.

"Right," Carlisle said absently, his thoughts now shifting into high gear. He was considering so many things at once that it was difficult for me to grasp the direction he was taking. "Did she say or think anything after that? Other than 'vampire'?"

"Um, yes..." I replied, trying to recall everything she had thought as we sat side-by-side. "She was confused...wondering why I was there, and how I could be out in the daytime. There was something about the sun...oh, _'Poof...dusted,'_ whatever that means. Wait...sun...sun, sun...Sunnydale! She was thinking about Sunnydale...and, two extra heads? I don't know...it didn't make any sense."

"Sunnydale?" Carlisle repeated. "She must be from Sunnydale, California. That doesn't give us much to go on. Was there anything else?"

"Yeah, um...the two-headed thing made her think about 'living above the world's most powerful Hellmouth'. I swear this girl is on drugs or something; her thoughts are complete gibberish." I sat up a little straighter in my chair. Could it be as simple as that? Was I making a big deal out of nothing? Maybe she was just crazy...like, really, certifiably insane. I mean, what normal human actually _believed_ in vampires? No one...just troubled teenagers looking for a rebellious outlet and the raving lunatics the asylums kept in padded rooms. Yes...that must be it. It made perfect sense to me now. She didn't know anything about me or my family...she was just nuts.

Suddenly feeling a wave of relief, I scoffed. "You know, Carlisle, I think maybe this was just a false alarm. The girl's not onto us...she's just a few megawatts short upstairs. Think about it...all her thoughts about monsters and demons, and whatever this 'Hellmouth' thing is. She even referred to herself as 'the Slayer' at one point..."

The chuckle died in my throat as Carlisle's head whipped around and his startled gaze met mine. "The Slayer? She called herself 'the Slayer'? No, it can't be..." he trailed off.

"What? What can't be?" Alarmed, I jumped to my feet and was across the room in a blur. I tried to focus on Carlisle's thoughts but they were jumping from one place to another so fast I couldn't keep up. It made me dizzy. "What is it, Carlisle?! What are you thinking?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, he just stood there tapping his index finger against his lips as his mind continued to swirl. Finally, after what seemed an eternity as I waited and grew more nervous by the second, he looked at me and nodded.

"I have it here somewhere...old..." he whispered as he began scanning the immense collection of volumes housed in tall bookcases along the walls.

I followed as he made his way slowly around the room, his hand brushing along the spines and occasionally pulling out a book only to push it right back in. We were nearing the last stack and I was starting to wonder if we were actually going to find what he was looking for, whatever it was, when he gasped and carefully slid a crumbling, ancient book from the shelf.

"Here it is," he said triumphantly, gently running his fingers over the battered cover. "It's fragile, so let's set it down before we open it."

We crossed back over to the large mahogany desk, where I stood next to Carlisle as he slid on a pair of white cotton gloves and gingerly turned the yellowed pages. Strange and frightening pictures of monsters I had never seen or heard of before were sketched alongside paragraphs and notes in a language I wasn't entirely familiar with. I hated to admit it, but I was starting to get a little creeped out.

"Carlisle, what is this?" I asked finally, unable to contain my raging curiosity any longer.

"It's a book of lore. Very, very old lore," he replied, his voice hushed as he concentrated on the writings before him. "I never thought the day would come that the legends came to life, though."

"What?" I choked. "What the hell are you talking about?"

Carlisle didn't reply as he continued to scan every detail of each page, his inhuman eyes darting back and forth faster than should be possible. I stood there unmoving, trying in vain to understand anything of what he was looking at, when his sudden sharp intake of breath nearly made me jump.

"I don't believe it," he whispered. "It's true...and right here before my eyes. Well, your eyes, more accurately," he said with a nod in my direction.

I was seriously lost. "What's true?" I asked stupidly. "Carlisle, I don't understand any of this."

He began to read aloud. "_'In every generation there is a Chosen One. She alone will stand against the vampires, the demons, and the forces of darkness. She is the Slayer.'_"

"She is the Slayer?" I repeated. "She _is_ the Slayer? What does that even mean?"

"She's a vampire slayer," he said simply. "She kills vampires, among other things."

If my dead, frozen heart could have beat again, it would have just so it could stop at Carlisle's alarming words. This _human girl_ was a _vampire killer_? No. No, that was impossible. "How can she kill vampires?" I demanded. "I thought we were virtually indestructible."

"Well, we are," Carlisle replied. "But according to legend, the Old Ones weren't."

All I could do was gape at him. This whole thing was getting too weird for me to process.

"See, many, many, _many_ years ago, the first breed of vampires were susceptible to all the myths that we modern vampires joke about today," he continued. "Garlic, crosses, and holy water were regularly employed to repel them...but the deadliest of all were sunlight and a stake to the heart - both would kill a vampire instantly. Now, it's been theorized throughout the years that we evolved into what we are today as a fight for our race's survival, but until now I never imagined it to be true. I always assumed the stories to be folk lore and old-wives tales."

"Hold on a minute," I interrupted. "So if this girl is the Slayer...who is she here to slay? Us? Does she not know that we're different than these Old Ones?"

Carlisle furrowed his brow in contemplation. "She must not, otherwise she wouldn't be here. Unless...unless the Old Ones didn't die out long ago like the legends assumed. Maybe there are some still out there."

I clenched my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose as I tried to grasp all this new information. "So, you're saying that maybe there's some ancient breed of vampire out there and she's hunting _them_? And what...she stumbled upon us by accident?"

"I'm not entirely sure," he replied. "But as of right now...that's how it looks."

"Well, where do we go from here then?" I asked.

Carlisle took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I don't know yet. I'd like to do some more research and perhaps contact some of my old colleagues to get their opinions on the matter before we make any decisions. In the meantime, just...be careful around her. I don't think she can hurt us, but it's better to be safe than sorry. I'll discuss this with the others as well."

I nodded. "Alright, well, I think I need some air to clear my head. This is all just...a lot."

"I know," Carlisle said, smiling reassuringly and laying a hand on my shoulder. "We'll figure it out, though. We'll get through this."

I grinned in return and then turned to leave the room, calling over my shoulder as I descended the stairs, "I have my phone if you need me. I'm just going for a quick run."

"_Okay, be safe, Edward,"_ Carlisle thought after me, and then I was out the door, racing through the trees.

I ran, letting the wind on my face and the smell of the forest soothe my frazzled state of mind, when the unmistakable tang of blood in the air brought me to a sudden halt. I breathed deeply. Not just blood...human blood. Why was I smelling human blood out in the middle of nowhere? Standing frozen in place, I listened with my ears as my mind searched outward, finally finding a pair of thoughts about a mile and a half south – one frightened and the other...hungry.

Without hesitating, I took off toward the predator and prey, not sure what I would find but determined to help if I could. I briefly considered calling Carlisle, but just as quickly decided against it. There could be a hiker being attacked by an animal, or a child being attacked by...worse. I would have to hurry if I was going to get there in time.

Seconds later I arrived in a small clearing, where a middle-aged woman was leaned up against a tree, her pale and slackened face barely visible from over the shoulder of her attacker. He turned when he heard me run up behind him, letting the woman fall to the ground at his feet as an angry growl escaped his throat. Blood trickled down his chin from a mouth full of sharp, jagged teeth.

I had interrupted his dinner.

Planting my feet firmly into the ground, I braced myself for his charge when suddenly he turned and bolted in the opposite direction. I stood there stunned for a moment, wondering who he was and why he fled, before I remembered the woman on the ground and ran to her side.

Two bleeding puncture wounds marred the flesh of her neck. I pressed my fingers against the wounded artery, but unsurprisingly, she had no pulse. He had drained her.

I sat back on my heels and thought about what I'd just found. The man was clearly a vampire, but he looked...weird. All the vampires I knew relied on physical beauty to lure in their prey, but his face was all misshapen and he had those horrible teeth. Could he have been one of the Old Ones Carlisle told me about?

Before I could contemplate any further, a twig snapped behind me and I jumped to my feet. I turned quickly, expecting to see the vampire come back to reclaim his meal, but instead I was staring at a small, attractive blonde.

It was her. Buffy. The Vampire Slayer.

Her eyes were wide as she took in the scene before her, and her full, pink lips were parted in shock.

Then I realized why.

I looked from her horrified face to the crumpled body beside me, and then back to her again. "Wait a minute," I began, holding my palms out in front of me. "This isn't what it looks like."

She apparently wasn't convinced, though, because her mouth formed a hard, determined line and she brought her fists up as she crouched into a battle stance.

Shit. Things were about to get ugly.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

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_**(Buffy)**_

I tapped my finger on the cheap veneer countertop while Giles poured himself a cup of tea. The man really needed to invest in a cordless phone.

"Buffy, are you still there?" His British accent was still as thick as the day I met him. You'd have thought that even a little bit of America would have rubbed off on him by now, but nope. He was still just as proper as ever. I loved him, though. He was the most stable father figure I'd ever had. I couldn't believe I almost screwed it up this summer.

I stood up straight, almost as if he'd be able to hear me leaning on the counter, poor posture and all. "Yeah, I'm here."

"Where were we?" he asked and I swear I could _hear_ him push his glasses up his nose.

"I followed the trail here last week and I've seen nothing from him…at all. Even the papers for the neighboring counties are clean. He's stopped killing, Giles. Probably to throw me off his scent," I explained, frustration audible in my voice.

There was a rustling of papers from the other end of the phone and I knew Giles was going through the mountain of research from his musty old books, trying to find something…_anything_ that would help me find this vampire.

"He eluded us for a couple of weeks here this summer, while you were…" – there was a deafening pause – "away." I could hear the pain in his voice and it made me sick that I had hurt them all so much.

If only they could understand that I_ had_ to leave so I could deal with what I had done to…_Angel_. His name was simply a whisper in my mind. I had yet to even say it out loud. It hurt too much.

As the memory of what prompted my road trip came back to me in flashes, tears stung my eyes, threatening to spill over onto my cheeks. What was I supposed to say? _"I'm sorry?" _That just seemed so…blah. It wasn't enough. Nothing would ever be enough.

"He will come out of hiding to feed sometime. He can't go on forever like this." Giles sounded exhausted, and I couldn't help but feel completely to blame. Everyone seemed more on edge since I had returned.

He cleared his throat, bringing me out of my self-loathing state for the moment. "Buffy, you have to find him. Judging from the death toll he's left in his wake, he's a far more dangerous adversary than even Angelus wa…"

That did it. The gaping chest wound that I had managed to hold together for the last few weeks opened up like a black hole...no, like the doorway to hell that I had sent Angel through not four months ago. It felt as though the air had been sucked from the room as I dropped the phone with a loud clatter to the floor. My legs began to shake as I tried, and failed, to steady my body against the counter. The room seemed to be spinning around me as my vision blurred. I wanted to scream and cry, but no sound came from my mouth as I sat on the kitchen floor, dying just a little bit more inside.

"_Buffy? Buffy! Are you alright?_" I could hear Giles' distant voice. I began clawing my way out of the fog in my head to try and get back to him.

My vision began to return to normal and I saw the phone lying on the floor. Wiping the tears from my cheeks with my right hand, my shaking left reached out and picked up the phone. "Um, yeah. Sorry about that," I apologized, my voice barely above a whisper. I pushed my pain as deep as I could manage…I'd actually gotten really good at that.

_What did Giles say before I went all catatonic? Oh, right. He's dangerous._

I stood up off of the floor. "I know he's dangerous, Giles. I'll find him before he can kill again." I looked out the kitchen window and noticed the sky darkening as the sun began to set behind the curtain of haze that blanketed this small town.

"The sun is setting. I should go patrolling." I was overly anxious to go out and kill a vampire in an effort to subdue my pain for just one more day. "I'll call you later and let you know if I find anything."

"Right. Do be careful," he said, his voice marked with worry for me. I just wasn't sure if his concern was for my safety as I prepared to battle the foe that I had traveled so far from home to hunt, or if he had noticed just how withdrawn and stoic I was since returning to my old life...if you could call _this_ living.

With a quick goodbye and the promise to stay safe, I hung up the phone before grabbing my leather jacket. I pulled the supple brown leather up over my shoulders, being sure to check the pockets for my small, yet effective weapon of choice, and left my apartment to go patrolling.

With my mind refocused on the task at hand, I set out into the plush woods of the Pacific Northwest. I walked for maybe an hour, rounding corner after tree covered corner and coming up empty every time. Eventually this routine got stale, even with the change in scenery, and without thinking I began humming show-tunes. It definitely wasn't an overly stealthy way to stalk the night for my rogue vamp buddy from back home, but it passed the time effectively.

I scoured every inch of the heavily wooded area only to find absolutely no trace of him…_again_. I was about to pack it in when suddenly, my entire body tingled and every single one of my senses heightened. The air crackled and hummed around me for the second time today, only this time it was strong. I could sense the vampire and I knew exactly how to find him.

The son of a bitch wouldn't escape me again.

I stood still and closed my eyes, just letting my instincts guide me. A gentle breeze picked up and carried with it the smell of blood. The fact that _I _could smell it meant that it wasn't just some measly paper cut - it was a kill.

Without a thought in my head, my legs took off running as they carried me to the scene. When the scent got stronger, I slowed down so I could sneak up on my unsuspecting, lumpy-faced enemy. The vampire kneeled next to his prey's lifeless body, the telltale bite marks and her cold, dead eyes both indicating that I was too late. Rage pumped through my veins as I slowed my breathing and tried to get my thundering heart under control so _it_ wouldn't hear me coming.

Of course, that wasn't going to do me any good anyways, because a twig snapped beneath my foot when I was twenty yards away from it. He leapt to his feet, his head snapping up in my direction.

My eyes widened in shock as I recognized the mussed bronze hair of my biology lab partner...correction, my _vampire_ biology lab partner. The hair on the back of my neck stood on end as his golden eyes met mine before he looked back down at the fresh corpse beside him. The poor woman never even stood a chance. I hated vampires with a vengeance…okay, so not _all_ vampires were bad…there was always – _No! Buffy, stay sharp!_

Narrowing my eyes at my new-found enemy, I took a defensive stance. It seemed odd to me when his face showed unease. What the hell was that about?

"Wait a minute… This isn't what it looks like." He raised his hands as if to surrender.

A small laugh blew past my lips. "Oh please," I scoffed. "Let's cut the scared little vampire act, alright?"

His eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. "Act?" He took a step toward me.

I cocked an eyebrow at him before nodding my head toward his victim. I couldn't believe he thought I was that daft. _Daft? Good Lord, I'm beginning to sound like Giles._

His head snapped back to the body behind him. "Oh, no. That's…not what you think."

I crossed my arms tightly across my chest. "Let me guess…you were just in the wrong place at the wrong time?" It was becoming more obvious that he thought I was an idiot and I felt the strongest urge to kick his ass for that simple fact alone…never mind that he was a vampire on top of it all.

Running his hand through his hair, he chuckled. This only served to increase my annoyance. "Well, yeah. Kind of." He took another step in my direction and my body reacted as I brought my hands up to defend myself if need be. "Look, I'm not going to hurt you," he told me in a reassuring tone.

"Whatever. Let's just cut the small talk, okay?" My hands clenched into fists as I readied myself for his attack, should he try to catch me off guard. "How about you make with the bumpies? It would be _so _much easier for me to kick your ass if you weren't sporting a face that could grace the cover of GQ."

My heart began to beat rapidly as I anticipated the impending battle. The gears in my mind were automatically shifting from _Buffy Summers_ to _Slayer_ as every primal instinct known to me burst to the surface, just waiting to be utilized.

"Bumpies?" He took a few more steps. "Look, I don't know what you…" I didn't let him finish speaking as he crossed that imaginary line into _my _territory.

"It doesn't really matter. You're all the same underneath." I shrugged. "I'll kick your ass, regardless." Without another word, I leaped into the air and landed a flying kick with my right leg dead in the centre of his chest. White, searing pain exploded through every nerve in my leg as it connected with what felt like a brick wall. He stumbled backward but didn't fall to the ground like I had expected. A blow of that force should have knocked over any vampire…in fact I had never known that move to fail…_ever_.

Putting weight on my leg was hard at first. I had definitely done some damage to it, but I could feel the pain subside as adrenaline surged through my body while I evaluated my next move. Anger raged through me as I flew at him again. He tried his best to block my blows and, much to my surprise, he could hold his own. Unfortunately for him, though, he wasn't as well trained as me and he failed to block the right hook to his jaw.

Every bone in my hand cracked as it connected with his rock-hard face. It was seriously like punching a marble slab. He stumbled a few quick steps back and I took the opportunity to execute a flawless roundhouse kick while he was still, for the most part, incapacitated. He reacted quickly and caught my leg before it connected with the other side of his face, and then he lifted my leg swiftly, and without effort, in an attempt to flip me backwards.

While I was sailing through the air, I was able to twist my body and landed securely on my feet with a cocky grin. "You have no idea who you're messing with, pal."

His jaw clenched in what I could only assume to be blind fury. "I'm not trying to _mess_ with anyone. _You_ attacked _me_."

Was he friggin' kidding me? _He _was trying to play the victim here?

"I _am_ the victim here!" he shouted.

_What the hell? _Had I said that out loud? It didn't matter…I was here to do a job. "Are you forgetting about your little midnight snack?" I sneered as I flexed my slightly swollen hand and judged whether or not I could use it again.

There it was - I saw a flash of anger in his eyes. I had him…or so I thought. He advanced on me much quicker than I was expecting. One second he stood at least fifteen yards from me and the next he was right in my face, his cold breath wafting over my skin.

He was too close, and clearly way faster than I was. Channeling all of my strength, I shoved at his chest and once he was a few feet away from me, I executed a slew of punches and kicks. I could only imagine my assault on him looked choreographed, but it was, in fact, completely about my survival and everything came to me without even having to think about it. It was as if my brain just tuned out every thought except for my basic survival skills.

He was right where I wanted him. I dropped my body to the ground, twisting and bringing my left leg around, sweeping his feet right out from under him. The ground shook slightly beneath me as he landed on his back.

Pulling the stake from my leather jacket pocket, I gripped it firmly in my right hand. I sailed through the air toward him and straddled his waist as I brought the sharpened piece of wood down, with as much force as I could muster, to pierce his undead heart.

What happened next caught me completely off-guard.

The stake shredded his shirt, but splintered upon impact with his cold, dead flesh. My entire body froze in a moment of sheer panic as I tried to figure out what the hell just happened.

My breaths came out ragged as I tried to put the pieces together and make sense of it. He should have been dust. I should have been kneeling in a pile of dead vampire ashes – not straddling his rock hard body.

_What the f…_

His head tipped toward me and he smirked. "You're not in Sunnydale anymore, Buffy."

_Holy shit. _How did he know where I was from? Terror took over as I realized that I had no idea what I was up against or if I could even defeat him.

_Fight or flight, Buffy. Fight or friggin' flight._

I tried "fight" and I had failed…miserably. There was only one option left.

I pushed my body off of his and ran as fast as my mortal legs would carry me, heading for my apartment.

I needed to talk to Giles…as soon as humanly possible.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

* * *

**_(Edward)_**

I stood alone in the clearing, my feet rooted to the ground, stunned and confused by what had just happened.

What _had_ just happened?

All I'd wanted was a leisurely run to clear my head, only somehow I ended up confronting a foreign vampire and his corpse, and then before I could blink I was looking down the barrel of Buffy Summers' fist...and her foot...and her stake...

I really didn't want to admit it, but the truth was I knew exactly what had just gone down - I very nearly had my ass handed to me on a platter...by some _girl_.

This day just kept getting weirder and weirder.

Stranger still, I couldn't deny that her fervour, her...ferocity...was a little more than intriguing. In all my years I had never come across a young human female like her. Strong and confident, not to mention beautiful...she was a serious force to be reckoned with. It was pretty hot, actually.

A jumble of emotions washed through me as I thought of her – _Buffy_ – and I couldn't deny that this girl made me feel things I hadn't considered in nearly a century. Tingly, lusty, achy things. It was a little unnerving, but I also kind of liked it. A lot.

I had to find her again.

Then I remembered the unfortunate dead woman lying drained and lifeless behind me. Damn it. I couldn't just leave her to rot out here in the woods, but neither could I just call up nine-one-one and be all, _"Hi, this is Edward Anthony Cullen. Yes, Dr. Carlisle Cullen's son. Listen, I was out for a twenty mile run in the woods when I just happened to find a dead body with these very suspicious bite marks on its neck..." _Yeah, that was sure to go over well.

After a few moments I decided my best course of action would be to carry the body to the edge of the highway and leave her somewhere noticeable. It wasn't a great plan, and I really wished I could do something a little more dignified for the poor soul, but it was the best I could come up with given the circumstances.

I picked up the body, cringing as the movement caused the scent of her blood to waft even more powerfully around me, and then took off toward the edge of town. Within minutes I was creeping up to the "The City of Forks Welcomes You" sign, looking and listening for any sign of people or cars. When I was confident no one was around to see what I was doing, I laid the woman down in a conspicuous spot and, shaking my head at the loss, turned and ran back to the woods.

I figured the best place to start my search for Buffy would be the last place I had seen her, and I wasn't wrong. Now that the overpowering tang of blood was gone from the air, I could clearly smell her unmistakable floral bouquet around me. I remembered it from our brief encounter in Biology class earlier today. She had a very appealing scent...sweet, like cherry blossoms, but with a spicy undertone that I didn't quite recognize. It was mouth-watering...though in ways that confused me.

I was surprised to find that I was more drawn to her person than I was to her blood. Sure, she smelled delicious in the edible way, but it was her character, her...charisma, that really attracted me. I wanted to get to know her...all of her. Mind, body, and everything else that made her who she was.

Would she give me that chance, though? Or did she see me as just another vampire to be terminated by whatever means possible? Well, there was only one way to find out...and lucky for me I was pretty much indestructible, whether she was aware of that fact or not.

I followed her intoxicating aroma out of the woods and through our quiet, sleeping town, finally ending up at an old, three-storey apartment building. The front door was propped open with a small stone, probably by someone who had just stepped out for a cigarette or the like, so I let myself in and proceeded to track her down the hall.

Her voice sounded both in my head and my ears just as I lost her scent outside a door marked "108".

"_This whole thing gives me the wiggins. I _know_ he's a vampire. I sensed it...I caught him drinking a Bloody Mary, or whatever her name was...but when I tried to stake him, it was like he was made of stone or something. I'm supposed to be the Slayer, but this guy was unslayable!"_

I stopped and leaned against the door, listening closer.

"_Well...well, yes...that certainly is a...conundrum,"_ a man's voice said on what I assumed to be the other end of a telephone call. _"Although, not entirely unfounded."_

"_Excuse me?" _Buffy cut in._ "You mean you knew there could be vamps like this out there and you didn't think you should tell me? Geeze, Giles! I'm not the vampire _Psychic_...need the info."_

"_Yes, well, I didn't actually _know _anything, but there have been rumours,"_ the man, Giles, continued. _"Talk amongst the other Watchers, but until now there had been no proof."_

"_I've got your proof, all right," _Buffy said, sounding annoyed._ "I have a sliver the size of a toothpick in my little finger! It's a good thing I didn't have Mr. Pointy with me...he would've been the only casualty tonight. Well, other than that woman..."_ she added sadly. _"I hate being too late."_

Mr. Pointy? I could read this girl's thoughts and she still made zero sense to me.

"_Uh, yes. Yes, I'm sure we're all very glad that...Mr. Pointy...was uh, spared tonight." _Giles muttered before switching gears. _"Can you tell me some more about this vampire you encountered? Was there anything else about him that stood out?"_

"_Well, he was..." _"Gorgeous," she thought, but she didn't say it out loud. _"Pretty. Too pretty. I've never seen a vamp who could kill without bumpifying first, and his teeth were so perfect they could've had their own commercial!"_

"_I see..." _Giles said. _"Yes, that is rather unusual."_

It was? Good God...did this man actually understand what she was talking about? I'd been listening in for all of two minutes and I was more confused than ever.

"_Is that all?"_

"_Other than being solid as a brick wall...yeah, I guess."_ Buffy replied. _"What's_ _this guy's deal, Giles? I need to know what I'm up against."_

"_Yes, I agree...you do." _Giles sighed heavily through the phone._ "I really wish I had more to tell you right now, but all we have to go on at the moment is hearsay, I'm afraid. There have been rumours of a new breed of vampire for several years now - ones who are stronger, faster, and much more difficult to kill - though you are the first I've heard of who's ever actually met one."_

"_Oh, nice," _Buffy huffed sarcastically._ "As if saving the world from regular vampires wasn't enough trouble, now I have a 'new breed' to deal with, too? Great...juuust great."_

Giles sighed again. _"I know this is all very difficult for you, Buffy, but this sort of thing is just part of being the Chosen One. You are the _Slayer_. This is what you do, and it's high time you just accepted it for what it is. The more you fight your birthright, the more it will fight you back."_

"_I know," _she said sullenly, adding under her breath,_ "But it'd be nice if even the Chosen One could catch a break every now and then." _

"_I'll gather the others and we'll start looking for more answers immediately. In the meantime, I want you to keep your distance from this vampire until we know more about him. Please...do stay safe, Buffy._

"_I will. Promise."_

"_Yes, well...I've heard that before," _Giles muttered._ "I'll be in contact as soon as we have anything useful to share."_

"_Ok," _Buffy replied._ "Oh, and Giles...say hi to Will and Xander for me?"_

"_Yes...will do. Goodbye then, Buffy."_

"_Bye," _she said softly, and then gently hung up the phone.

I stood back from the door and considered my options. Slayer or not, I was fairly certain she wasn't an actual threat to me or my kind, so approaching her shouldn't be dangerous. Not physically, at least. What was really worrying to me were these newfound feelings I had tumbling around. I wanted her...badly...but what if she didn't want me back? Rejection was an all too real possibility at this point. A likelihood I had never faced before, and one I wasn't sure I could handle.

I took another step back and contemplated just walking away. It would mean I'd never know for certain what the outcome would have been. I could spend eternity wondering if I turned my back on what might have been something wonderful, something...life altering. The thought made me sick. No, I couldn't run from this. I had to find out, one way or the other.

Taking a deep breath, I reached out and knocked on her door.

Her thoughts were wary as her footsteps approached, and then the door creaked open and her face appeared in the crack. Obviously startled to find me there, her eyes went wide and her mouth dropped open, but then she swung the door away and stood staring at me cockily.

"What, you didn't get enough of an ass-kicking in the forest so you thought you'd come back for more?" she asked sarcastically, raising one eyebrow as her mouth curled into a sneer. "I've always known your kind to be sadistic...but a masochistic vampire? That's a new one for me."

"Look," I said calmly, stepping into her apartment as she gasped and backed away from me. "I'm not looking for any trouble. I just came to...talk."

I closed the door with a light click as she continued to gape at me.

"I...I didn't invite you in," she stammered, her face paling with fright and confusion.

"I won't hurt you," I promised. "Can we just sit and talk? I thought...maybe we could get to know each other and try to figure out what's going on here."

She shook her head in disbelief. "But...I didn't invite you in! What are you...how did you get in here?"

It was my turn to be confused. "What do you mean _'how did I get in here'_?" I looked behind me and then turned back to her again. "It's a door...I walked through it."

"No...no! You're not supposed to be able to come into my home. This is my _home_!" she exclaimed, gesturing around the room. "Even if it is only temporary..."

"I...don't know what you're talking about," I admitted, scratching the back of my head awkwardly. "Does this have something to do with the Old Ones?"

That got her attention. "The Old Ones?"

"Yeah. You know...your 'slayable' vampires. My, uh...father...told me about them." I said.

"Your _father_?" she asked incredulously. "_You_...have a _father._"

"Sure, don't we all?" I joked lamely, but she didn't even crack a smile. I sighed. "For all intents and purposes, Carlisle is my father. But if you want to get specific about it, I guess you would call him my sire. It was his venom that changed me into...well..." I gestured to myself.

Buffy just blinked at me. "Okayyy. Next you're going to tell me that you live with your parents and siblings in one big happy vampire family."

I opened my mouth but then closed it again, letting it settle into an uncomfortable smile.

"You live with your parents and siblings in one big happy vampire family?" she dead panned.

"Uh...yes?" I replied.

"Wow. We really do have a lot to learn about each other."

"Right...well, that's why I'm here. Can we just call a truce for a few minutes and...talk?" I asked hopefully.

She took a few deep breaths while she stood and stared at me, trying to make up her mind about my proposition.

"_He doesn't seem like a creep...for a vampire, anyways. Plus, he's so pretty... No, Buffy! That has nothing to do with this situation! Keep it together, girl! This could all be an act...a plot to...to...no. No, I don't think so. I'm supposed to go with my gut, right? Well, I don't know why, but I kind of feel like I can trust him," _she thought.

I cleared my throat and looked at the floor, trying to pretend I couldn't hear what was going on in her head.

"_Besides,"_ she continued. _"I'm the Slayer. I can handle this. Just because a stake didn't kill him doesn't mean something else won't..." _

I looked up just as her gaze darted over to the couch, where a small suitcase sat open and overflowing with wooden stakes, crosses, bottles of holy water, a cross-bow, and a...sword? Hell's bells...this girl really was something else.

"Okay," Buffy said, drawing my attention back to her. "Why don't you sit down and we'll...talk."

I smiled and moved to the armchair across from the couch. "Great."

"Yeah," she agreed, though somewhat uncertainly. "Um...can I get you something to drink?"

We stared at each other awkwardly as her question hung in the air.

"Okay...not the best thing to ask when your guest is a vampire." She grimaced at me and then looked away as she sat down beside her small arsenal of weapons.

I chuckled, trying to diffuse the tense moment. "Don't worry about it. I'm not thirsty. Besides, I don't drink...people." Her head snapped up and she looked at me in surprise, so I elaborated. "My family...we jokingly refer to ourselves as vegetarians, because we survive only on the blood of animals."

Buffy gasped, and her bottom lip trembled as she blinked back tears.

"I'm sorry," I said immediately, even though I wasn't sure what exactly had made her upset.

She shook her head, swallowing thickly and closing her eyes. "It's okay. It's not you. I just..." She took another deep breath before she opened them and met my gaze again. "You know what? Never mind. What's your family's story? I mean...why don't you drink human blood?"

I shrugged. "We don't want to kill people."

"You mean...you actually care? You don't...like it?"

Taken aback, I was quick to retort. "What, being a murderer? No, we don't _like it_. Just because life, or non-life, dealt us this hand doesn't mean we can't rise above it and be something better. We don't _want_ to be monsters."

Buffy gaped at me. "Is all of your kind this way?"

"No," I answered, more politely this time. "Just my family and a few others that we know of. It's hard to deny the burn, to live with a thirst that's never fully quenched, and most other vampires think we're crazy to exist this way. They all see drinking human blood as being 'in our nature'. They think we're denying who we really are."

A small smile played on her mouth. "I've heard that once or twice before."

I grinned in reply, noticing once again how incredibly lovely she was. Her long blonde hair shone in the dim light of the room, and her smooth cheeks blushed a most delicate shade of pink that matched her full lips perfectly. I wanted to kiss them...among other things.

Shaking my head to knock my mind out of the gutter, I refocused on Buffy's eyes only to find her looking at me just as intently as I was looking at her.

A low hum of electricity seemed to reverberate between us, making the air feel charged and alight.

"I should...probably go," I said reluctantly, but it seemed like the right thing to do. Something told me things would quickly get out of hand if I stayed any longer, though I wasn't sure in what way.

"Yeah," Buffy breathed. "I guess I'll see you at school tomorrow? Lab partner?"

"Right. Biology. Yes," I replied lamely. It seemed my mouth was no longer being controlled by my brain.

She smiled and nodded. "Okay then..."

"Okay then..." I repeated, and then made my way to the door. My hand was on the door knob when one last thing occurred to me. Turning back to her, I said, "I'm Edward, by the way."

Her eyes widened slightly. "Oh...right! Nice to meet you, Edward...I'm Buffy."

I smiled. "Nice to meet you, Buffy. See you tomorrow."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17…**

* * *

_**(Buffy)**_

_Edward._

Why couldn't I get him out of my head? Wait…did I _want_ to? No, I really didn't think I did. I liked him there and, in my little world, he liked it, too.

When we sat together in my living room there was no denying that the room was charged with a crackling electricity. I had to fight with my own limbs to keep from jumping him and finally quenching my intense need to kiss him.

Of course, I wasn't sure that he even wanted me as badly as I wanted him, so that could have been slightly awkward.

"_Um, Buffy. What the hell are you doing?"_

"_Oh, I'm sorry, is this not how lab partners are supposed to conduct their experiments? My bad."_

Yeah, that could definitely make the rest of my stay a tad bit awkward…and "awkward" was not how I wanted him to view me. Sexy, funny, witty, beautiful, smart…but in some sort of order that made me look dateable…_whoa, wait a minute…_dateable?!_ Slow down, Buffy._

I had to shake my head and get it back in the game. I still had school to bust my ass through…and speaking of 'ass-busting', I had to find that vamp and dust it. This trip was about business, _not_ pleasure.

It was strangely sad to think of dusting that vampire, though. Not because I took pity upon him or anything, but because when it was finally dead, I would have to go back to Sunnydale. And that meant I would be leaving Edward before figuring things out between us. I didn't like that thought at all.

With a semi-defeated sigh and the dawn of a new day on the horizon…well, more like 'behind the clouds on the horizon'…I got ready for school.

Completely bypassing my cute and flirty fall skirts and open-toed sling back heels, I donned my new uniform of jeans and a heavy sweater grudgingly.

I quickly ran a brush through my hair and applied an ample supply of hair product to tame any strays before giving myself the final once-over. Ugh…one of the major upsides to being back in Sunnydale would be relaxing in the sun again. I'd only been here a few days and already my skin looked paler, not to mention the ass-kicking my hair was taking from the humidity. I pinched my cheeks for a hint of color, and after one last look in the mirror, I was ready to go.

It was a pleasant surprise when I left my building to find that it wasn't raining. I had about a ten minute walk to the high school and I didn't think to bring an umbrella. The _last_ thing I wanted was to get there looking like a drowned rat.

I arrived at school with about fifteen minutes to spare and instantly looked for Edward. Something about him had awakened feelings in me that I had thought were dead for months.

Maybe it was his dazzling smile, his warm eyes, his smell, his oh-so-amazing body…whatever it was, I was drawn to him and there was a part of me that couldn't wait to get to know him a little better and explore the feelings that I didn't think I would _ever _feel again.

I could feel the air around me shift with his arrival. A wide smile played across my lips as I turned to find Edward next to my locker.

"Hey," he said, a crooked smile brightening his features. It made my knees weak and I swallowed thickly. "How was your sleep?" he asked as he propped himself up against the locker beside mine.

"Not as peaceful as one would think," I replied, picking up my Biology books and closing my locker door in preparation to walk to class with him. I lowered my voice as I continued. "You know, it turns out that when someone, even someone as fearsome as the Slayer, finds out that there are indestructible forces out there that can come into their home all willy-nilly, it totally messes with your mojo."

He stopped dead in his tracks and reached out for my arm, his fingers gently wrapping around my bicep in an effort to halt me.

My arm tingled under his touch, and it seemed to travel throughout my body, making me tremble in delight.

His eyes bore into mine seriously. "You know we would _never_ hurt you, right? It wasn't just something I said to get into your good graces."

Laughing softly, I looked up at him. "I know that, but I also recall you saying something about others not being quite so open to your diet. I just need to be prepared for anything. It's a good thing I don't need a ton of sleep to survive with my line of work," I joked.

He chuckled lightly. "I guess that's something we have in common, then."

Before I could ask him to explain that, the bell started ringing and we picked up the pace to get to class. We found our seats and waited for the lesson to begin.

Mr. Banner entered the class and made his way down the aisles, pushing a cart full of microscopes.

He was talking about the different stages of mites…or my toes…or _something_, I wasn't entirely sure what, as he placed a microscope on each of the lab tables. A hearty laugh erupted to my left and I looked over to find Edward hunched over his desk, nearly hysterical at some joke I had missed.

"Do you care to share with the class?" I asked as he tried, and failed, to right himself.

He shook his head as he finally got a grip. His eyes were sparkling as he ran his fingers through his hair, his laugh dying down until he was simply smiling.

"Really?" I asked. "Because something _that_ funny deserves to be shared. If not with the class, then at least with me."

"Trust me, you probably wouldn't find it too funny," he said, a chuckle escaping him as he clearly remembered whatever it was that had caused his momentary lapse in sanity.

"Fine. Well, don't expect me to share my answers," I threatened, not that I had any idea what we were doing anyways. This only caused him to laugh harder. "Seriously, what the hell?!"

"I'm so sorry. I'm better...I'll behave." He took a deep breath and held it as he softened his features.

My eyes went from him to the microscope on the table and I was sort of afraid to tell him that I had no idea what we were supposed to do.

_Well, gee, Buffy. Maybe if you were paying attention to what the teacher was saying instead of focusing on the undeniable hotness of Edward. The way his eyes shine when he laughs, or even how his hands would feel when they…_

Edward cleared his throat and pulled the microscope until it was between us. He shifted nervously in his seat before swallowing thickly. "So, have you done this lab before? You know, when you were in Sunnydale?" he asked, doing everything he could to _not_ look me in the eyes.

"Um, I don't think so. But I think I had more absences than appearances," I admitted shamefully. Telling him that really made me sound less 'bad-ass' and more 'ass-like'. "Because of my work, of course."

"Right, of course." He cleared his throat before continuing. He grabbed one of the slides and slipped it beneath the metal clamps as he spoke. "So, _my-toe-sis_," he began, smirking and putting heavy emphasis on each syllable. "Is the process of cell division which results in the production of two daughter cells from a single parent cell. The daughter cells are identical to one another and to the original parent cell."

"Okayyy."

A single breathy laugh escaped him before he continued. "In a typical animal cell, mitosis can be divided into four principal stages. Prophase, which is when the chromatin, diffused in interphase, condenses into chromosomes. Each chromosome has duplicated and now consists of two sister chromatids. At the end of prophase, the nuclear envelope breaks down into vesicles."

_Huh?_

He didn't even stop to take a breath as he continued. "Metaphase is when the chromosomes…" He carried on talking and I didn't understand a word of it as he flipped to a page in his text book and slid it between us to show me some diagrams. "Then, there's Anaphase. This is when the centromeres divide. Sister chromatids separate and move toward the corresponding poles."

_What?_

"And finally, there's Telophase. The daughter chromosomes arrive at the poles and the microtubules disappear…" More gibberish spilled from his mouth and proceeded to leak out of my ears.

From the expression on his face when he finally finished his explanation, I knew I must have been looking at him like he had just spoken everything in ancient Sumerian…and truthfully he probably should have, then I might have actually picked up on a word or two instead of the nonsense he was spewing.

I blinked a few times. "Wow, that made all sorts of sense that, well…didn't"

"Basically, all we have to do is look at the slides, see which ones match the pictures in the textbook, and mark down which of the four stages it's at," he told me.

"Oh, well why didn't you just say _that_?" I asked, only to have him smile that damn crooked smile again. _Holy hell, as if that isn't _the_ sexiest smile I've seen in months._

We worked our way through the lab and finished before the rest of the class, so we had a little bit of down time. "So, I have to patrol tonight," I said quietly.

"Patrol?"

_Oh, right. He has no idea what that even means…well, at least you got to confuse _him_ a little bit, for once._ "Oh, sorry. Basically, I need to hunt for the baddy with the bumpy forehead. I can't let him catch me off-guard or even let him get close to killing again. It needs to end. Tonight."

"Uh huh," he said, not really sure why I was telling him this.

"Well, I was sort of thinking…you know, if you're willing to…I could use a super sense of smell to help me find him. I mean…I have my instincts and all, but if I had some way to track him _before_ he was around me – that's how it works, by the way…I need to be in a kind of close proximity to them." _Stop rambling and just spit it out!_ "Wow, anyways, I was wondering if I could enlist your help in tracking him."

His brow furrowed as he tried to grasp what I had just asked of him. "So, let me get this straight? You want me to help you hunt one of my own kind?"

It honestly hadn't occurred to me that this would be an issue with him. "Well, yeah. Unless you want him sticking around and bringing your town's mortality rate up?"

Apparently I had offended him, because he became wicked-defensive. "Of course I don't _want_ that to happen, but it's not that easy, Buffy."

"I really don't see the big. He's not your typical type of…well, _you know_." I had to quiet my voice before the entire class heard us.

The bell rang and Edward grabbed his books before walking past me, seemingly in a hurry to leave this conversation. "That's really not the point."

I picked up my books and chased after him. "Edward! Wait up!" I called as I chased him down the hall.

"I have to get to class," he shot behind him.

I increased my pace, knowing that he wouldn't be able to use his speed or strength in front of this many people without drawing attention to himself. Once I caught up with him, I grabbed him by the arm and tugged him into the first empty classroom I could find.

"Something tells me that _you_ don't really need to attend your next class," I told him as I slammed my books down on the teacher's desk before leaning against it. "Why are you wigging out about this?"

He placed his books down on a desk and pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "Look, I can't, okay? I can't just hunt one of my own…"

"That's just it, though. He's not really one of your kind." I wasn't sure how I was going to win this battle. I could have tried beating him into submission, but with him being virtually indestructible, this room probably wouldn't survive. "Look, if it helps, I just need you to track him for me. I'll end it and then I will leave town and you'll never even know I was here. It will be as though I never even existed."

This seemed to catch his attention. "What?" he asked in a quiet voice as his smoldering eyes looked into mine.

"I'm only here to bust and dust his ass, and then I'm on the first bus back to California." Saying those words out loud tugged at my insides. It was almost as though I couldn't even imagine leaving him…and I'd only _just_ met him.

He lowered his eyebrows, his eyes not once leaving mine and he took a step forward. "You're leaving? So soon?" he asked.

I gripped the edge of the desk as I sat there, fighting with myself to not jump into his arms. "Well, yeah. This was just a temporary gig." I was quiet for a moment. "So, can you help me?"

With a heavy sigh he turned his face from mine. "Buffy, it goes against everything I want to be. I don't relish killing another creature…even one as twisted as this one."

Frustration was growing within me as I ran both of my hands through my hair and groaned. "Gah! It's not like I'm asking you to be the one to push the stake into his chest. I'm a big girl. I can handle that all by myself."

"No, instead you're just asking me to be your foxhound and point you in his direction. Well, sorry. I can't help you there," he told me as he headed back to where he had left his books.

"What the hell is your problem?" His total unwillingness to help me was seriously hitting a nerve. "Fine. Whatever. I have a job to do, and if you won't help me, then I guess I'll just have to do it myself."

Turning to face me he smiled. "Tell me, Buffy. Does it get tiring being this righteous all the time?"

A surge of adrenaline flared beneath my skin as I looked up at him with a cocky grin. "It only seems to surface in the presence of brooding vampires," I retorted.

He closed the gap between us in less than a second. Waves of arousal coursed through my body as he lowered his lips to mine and attacked them with a ferocity I hadn't felt in ages. My stomach rolled and every part of my body ached to be touched as he rushed us toward the door.

His hands traveled down from my waist, gripping my backside as he lifted me off of the ground so our faces were level with one another. My legs wrapped instinctively around his waist and I tightened them to pull his body even closer to mine. With a low moan against my mouth, he pressed my back firmly into the door and thrust his hips into me.

With our bodies so closely intertwined, I could feel the coolness of his skin through our clothes as his chilled lips worked furiously against my own. I opened my mouth to deepen the kiss, but this only caused him to groan, almost painfully, and pull his lips from mine.

I was breathing pretty heavily, trying to replenish my oxygen supply, as his mouth traveled to my neck where he kissed it hungrily. Heat traveled through my entire body as he stopped at the hollow of my throat, causing me to moan lustily.

_This feels so amazing._

With a growl, he removed his hands from under me and ran them up my sides roughly before he gripped my breasts firmly. My hips pressed forward into his, and he moaned against my neck, sending goosebumps of pleasure to prickling over my entire body.

_Oh my god, this feels so right._

"Mmmm, doesn't it though?" he breathed against my neck before bringing his mouth up to be joined with mine once more.

Before his lips could touch mine, though, I pulled my head back, hitting it on the heavy wooden door. "Wait…what?" I asked, not quite sure what just happened.

Confusion was clearly written across every plane of his perfect face as he looked at me with hooded eyes. "What? I was only agreeing with you on how right this feels," he said as his crooked smile appeared and sent my concerns flitting out the window.

My breathing picked up and I was about to pull his face back to mine when I realized that I had _thought_ about how right it felt…I didn't _say _it.

The look of fear on his face was answer enough for me. "Oh God, you know what I'm thinking…don't you?" I whispered.

His eyes closed as he rested his forehead against my shoulder. "I didn't want to freak you out."

I nudged him away from me so I could drop back to the floor. "And you figured that the best way to accomplish that was by whispering sweet nothings into my ear that referenced my _thoughts_ while we were getting coital in Mr…whoever's…empty English classroom?"

_What else had he heard? Did he know about…_

"Buffy, I…"

I held my hand up to stop him. "My thoughts are kind of…private, you know?"

"Of course, I didn't mean any…"

I looked at him apologetically. "I…I have to go. I need to…process this. I'm sorry." I grabbed my biology books and bolted.

It took all of my will to tear myself from that room…from him.

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**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

_**"Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	7. Chapter 7

**A/N: Stephenie Meyer owns Twilight. Joss Whedon owns Buffy the Vampire Slayer. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

* * *

_**(Edward)**_

I had known Buffy Summers for just over twenty-four hours, and I'd already managed to screw things up.

_Way to go, Edward. Along comes one girl in ninety years who actually captures your attention, and you blow it on the second day. Really...nice work. _

I tossed my book-bag into the corner behind the door and collapsed onto the black leather couch in my bedroom.

Damn it all.

I was frustrated, and confused, and...still pretty turned on from our unexpected tryst in the empty classroom...which in turn, only added to my frustration and confusion. Ugh! Were all relationships this complicated? Or was this simply a human thing? No...this was probably just an 'Edward Cullen' thing. Leave it to me to not only fall for a _human_, but the _Slayer_, no less. A killer of my own kind...well, sort of. The point, though, was that we didn't belong together. When it all came right down to it, we were basically mortal enemies. You couldn't get any more star-crossed than that. Damn it! I sure knew how to make a mess of things.

My self-loathing was interrupted by a light knock on the door, and then Jasper poked his head into my room. "Hey. Can I come in?" he asked.

I stared at him for a few seconds, trying to decide what my answer was going to be. I was fairly certain I knew why he was here; Jasper's 'gift' meant he would have sensed my discontent from the moment we all climbed into my Volvo after school. So now the question became whether I wanted to talk about it, or wallow. I sighed heavily. "Yeah."

Jasper let himself in and swung the door shut behind him, coming to sit on the opposite end of the couch. "So..." he began. "What's the story?"

I eyed him wearily. "The usual. There's shit...I stepped in it."

Jasper chuckled and leaned his head back, folding his hands across his chest as he grinned at the ceiling. "I see. Well, the emotional rollercoaster you're on is giving me mood swings and Alice is about ready to tear me to pieces and strike a match, so I'd appreciate it if we could figure this here problem of yours out. How about the extended version?"

Running my fingers through my hair a few times, I sat forward with my elbows on my knees and my chin in my hands. "I met someone," I mumbled. "Someone I really should be staying away from, and yet I'm drawn to her in ways I don't fully understand."

Jasper turned to me and smirked. "Well you see, Edward, when a man feels a physical attraction to a woman, it's normal for certain...bodily reactions..."

"Shut up, you jerk." I flung a throw pillow at him and couldn't help but grin when it bounced off his face. "This is serious."

Jasper snickered, but quickly composed himself when I palmed the ottoman and glared at him meaningfully. "Okay, okay...sorry, man. I couldn't help myself." He shrugged and raised his eyebrows apologetically, as if I should understand why he just _had_ to tease me about this.

Sadly, I did. My lack of interest in finding a mate had been both a source of concern to my parents and a source of mockery to my siblings for years and years. Carlisle and Esme worried that I was changed too young and therefore lacked the fundamentals of adult wants and desires, while Emmett harassed me incessantly about my virginal status. The others - Rosalie, Jasper and Alice, simply didn't understand why I wouldn't just find someone, _anyone_, to be with...even just for now.

The truth was I didn't want just anyone. I didn't want to spend my time with someone simply because I had nothing better to do. What I wanted was to find that one person I couldn't live without, and then, well, not live without her. It wasn't that I wasn't looking...I just hadn't found her yet. Maybe I never would, but I wasn't prepared to settle for less.

I was startled when Emmett's booming voice out in the hallway cut through my self-reflection. _"Aww, come on, Rosie...it was just a joke! You know I didn't mean it like that! I said I was sorry...can't we just kiss and make up?"_ Rosalie's trilling laughter echoed just outside my door as she stomped past. _"Oh, you're going to have a lot of kissing to do to make up for that one, you jackass, but believe me when I tell you that you won't be starting with my lips."_ The walls rattled as Rosalie slammed their bedroom door behind them, muting the sound of their ongoing argument.

Wide eyed and mouth agape, I looked over at Jasper. He just snorted. "You think _you_ have woman problems..."

All I could do was shake my head. "I don't know, man. Sure, Rose can be a handful, but I think I'm in serious trouble here."

Jasper's brow furrowed. "How? What is it about this girl that has you so freaked out? Who is she?"

"She's... Well she's... She's not... She's a...the..." I couldn't even bring myself to say it out loud. The more I thought about it, the more I realized just how foolish it was for me to be getting involved with Buffy at all. She was a _vampire_ _slayer_, for crying out loud, and I was a vampire. My whole _family_ were vampires. I was putting them all at risk for a girl I barely knew. God, I was such an asshole.

"Wait a minute," Jasper piped up suddenly. "Alice didn't mention seeing any lady-vamps coming into the area... Holy geeze, Edward...is she a _human_?"

If only it were that simple.

I took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "Yes, but...there's more."

"Okayyy..." Jasper said, staring at me expectantly.

"She's..." I clenched my eyes shut and pinched the bridge of my nose as I forced the words out. "...the Slayer."

Jasper didn't react at all. He didn't gasp or even flinch. I wasn't sure exactly what I had been expecting from my confession, but it was definitely _something_. I opened my eyes to find him simply looking at me, no expression on his face or thoughts going through his head. The air around us was so silent in fact, that I didn't notice Rose and Emmett had stopped fighting until my door crashed open and she stormed into my room.

"Are you out of your damn mind?!" Rosalie demanded, stopping just in front of me and pointing a perfectly manicured finger into my face. "We have a vampire killer on the loose in Forks and you decide the best way to handle the situation is to go get nice and cozy with her? She's a danger to all of us, Edward! What the hell is wrong with you?"

I hated that everything she said was right. I already knew it all to be true, but having it confirmed by my sister somehow made me feel even worse.

"I know, Rose, I know. It wasn't a good idea for me to get involved with her, but it's not a simple black and white situation. She's...not what we thought."

"She's _not_ the Slayer?" Rosalie asked uncertainly.

"Well, yes, she is...but she's not here to kill us. She tracked one of her Old Ones here. Finding us was just a fluke," I answered.

Rosalie was unconvinced. "Edward, you are so naïve," she snorted. "This whole thing could be a trap, and you're walking right into it! My God, you are such a man...always thinking with your little head!"

"There's more to it than that!" I bristled. "She's a really good person, Rose! Everything she told me was the truth." I glared at her and tapped the side of my head. "Or have you forgotten that I have an insider's perspective?"

Rosalie pursed her lips and shook her head angrily. "This isn't right. You're going to get us all burned just to play around in her pants."

That was it. I couldn't just sit here and let her cheapen Buffy that way. "I told you there's more to it than that!" I said hotly, jumping to my feet. "Sure, we're attracted to one another, but it goes deeper than that. I like her, Rose, inside _and_ out. And she likes me, too".

Emmett, who had been standing in the doorway looking back and forth between Rosalie and me with a toothy grin and wide, excited eyes, finally broke his silence with a loud whoop. "All right! Eddie's finally got himself a girlfriend! It's about time, buddy...I was starting to think you'd never cash in that V-card of yours!"

I took a deep breath to try and calm my sudden rage. "Emmett," I said through gritted teeth. "Shut...up."

His laughter boomed throughout my room, rattling both the walls and my nerves. "Touchy, aren't we? I guess that means you haven't sealed the deal yet...you're still as uptight as ever."

I had finally had enough. "You know what? The both of you can get the hell out of my room! I didn't ask for your opinions on the subject, so as far as I'm concerned, you were just in here talking about the weather. Bye."

Emmett just chuckled while Rosalie glared at me coldly. "Screw you, Edward," she spat. "You're making a huge, dangerous mistake, and I just hope the rest of us are still here to see you regret it."

Emmett took one last look at me as Rosalie stormed past him and out the door, winking and making a crude gesture with his fingers before he turned to follow her.

"Do us all a favour and at least wear a condom," Rosalie shouted from the hallway. "The last thing we need is some mutant, half-breed baby running around here."

Their bedroom door slammed, leaving Jasper and me alone again, but this time with an awkward silence hanging between us. Leave it to Rose to come in and ruin my chance to finally talk to someone about what was going on.

I couldn't be angry at her, though, not when I was privy to her thoughts. I saw through her tough, bitchy exterior to the scared, insecure little girl she kept hidden inside her. So, while her attitude toward me and this situation was hurtful, I knew she was only trying to protect herself and her home.

As a human, everything Rosalie knew and loved was taken viciously from her by someone she thought she could trust wholeheartedly. Now she was wary of anything that threatened her safety and security, and who could blame her?

Certainly not me. I gagged and wretched the first time she remembered her attack while I was around to "see" it, and even all these years later, it still pains me deeply to know just what happened to her. Rosalie was Rosalie for a very sad reason.

"Don't listen to her," Jasper said suddenly.

I turned to him, surprised to hear his voice again after all that had just transpired. "Why not? She's right," I replied miserably.

"No, she isn't." Jasper challenged. "I can sense emotions, Edward, and it's very clear to me that what you feel for this girl is more than just lust. It's not love, not yet, but maybe someday it could be."

I didn't know what to say. Jasper was my brother and I knew he wanted good things for me, but giving me his blessing to fall in love with a vampire slayer was way more than I was expecting.  
Especially when my happiness came with a potential threat to Alice; he was always so protective of her.

"Look," Jasper continued before I could respond. "I'm not saying to run in head first with your pants down, but...follow your gut. I trust you, so if you trust this girl, then so do I."

"Thank you," I said lamely. The sentiment seemed completely inadequate, but it was the best I could come up with given the circumstances.

"Besides," he added. "There's five of us indestructible types against one of her, and I know Emmett would be down for a fight if it came to that. I think the odds are in our favour with this one."

I chuckled. "True, but don't underestimate her. She had me on my back before I even realized what was happening."

Jasper smirked and raised his eyebrows as I realized just how differently that comment could be taken from how I meant it. "I don't need to hear the dirty details," he said with a laugh. "I think my work here is done. Go get 'er, Tiger. Just...be careful."

"I will," I replied.

Jasper nodded and then he was gone, leaving me to make a decision I had never even considered before - follow my heart, or my head.

Lucky for me, they were both saying the same thing.

* * *

**A/N: Anyone care to guess what crude gesture Emmett made to Edward before leaving the room? Lol!**

**Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

"_**Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17…**

* * *

_**(Buffy)**_

After bolting from the classroom, I headed for home. I didn't rush or anything, I just needed to clear my head. There was no way I could face the rest of my day in school. Sure, cutting class two days in probably wasn't too stellar, and I'd probably hear from my mother on that very issue, but I couldn't risk running into Edward again…not yet. What would I say? _"Hey, sorry I wigged while you felt me up. It's not you, it's totally me."_

Right, 'cause every guy liked to hear that the girl they just made out with was a total whack-job...

_Huh...I'm suddenly very uncomfortable with that term..._

I furrowed my brow and gave my head a shake as my apartment building came into view. Completely lost in my thoughts, I had taken the scenic route home and walked through the forest for a couple of hours. As I slid the key into the lock on my door, I thought back to what had caused my freak-out.

_He read my mind. _

It concerned me on a number of levels, the first one being Angel. Had I been thinking of Angel and what I had done to him while with Edward? If so, how did he feel knowing that I sent the man I loved more than my own life to hell on the end of my broad-sword? I mean, if that didn't send him running full tilt toward the Alaska, I wasn't sure what would.

My second concern was that if he did in fact turn out to be evil, like so many vampires before him, I wouldn't have the upper hand in battle. In fact, I wasn't even sure how I kicked his ass as much as I had last night.

Finally, there were my lewd, Buffy-thoughts. How the hell was I supposed to explain my way around the images swimming through my head? Especially the ones that seemed to focus on what I could see us doing to one another? How humiliating to know that he had witnessed them almost first hand.

I stepped through my door and closed it before reinforcing the locks out of sheer habit for my safety. Though, it was foolish to feel "safe" since he was really no threat to me at all, and technically he could just walk right in if he wanted to anyways—no invitation needed. While that information alone should have sent my wig-o-metre catapulting over the edge, it didn't. I trusted him.

With the door firmly in its place, I turned around and pressed my back to the flimsy wood paneling before sliding down to the floor. I rested my elbows on my knees and slid my fingers into the hair at my temples as I tried to figure out what my next move should be.

Was I supposed to avoid him? The thought of that upset me beyond words. There was this deep-rooted connection I felt with Edward; one I couldn't explain, and definitely one I hadn't felt since before the night of my seventeenth birthday.

_How could I let myself get so carried away by...whatever the hell that was?_

It was too soon. Way..._way_ too soon. Wasn't it? Add to that, he was a _vampire_. I found it hard to get over what had happened the last time I got involved with one of the undead. _This is different, Buffy. You know it is._

My insides twisted as my conflicted emotions warred with one another. It made me dizzy.

I knew everyone close to me wanted me to be happy, but I wasn't entirely sure I deserved it after what I had put them all through.

I sat in my entry way as I weighed out my options thoroughly, and I realized that I just needed to jump in with both feet and not look back. If Edward was what made me happy, then I needed to follow my heart, right? The thought of a possible reconciliation warmed me throughout as I eagerly anticipated seeing him tomorrow morning.

The loud ringing of my phone jarred me from my epiphany, and I jumped up from my spot on the floor to answer it. "Hello?" I said as I hopped effortlessly up onto the countertop.

"Oh, Buffy. I, uh, didn't think I would get you…wait, shouldn't you be in class?" Giles asked.

"I don't feel good?" I meant to say that in a confident tone that he would believe, but it came out more like a nervous question.

I stifled a giggle when he made the _'cluck cluck'_ sound with his tongue that he so often did when he was upset with me. "Yes, well. I guess it's just as well that I caught you now anyways. We'll discuss your truancy at length later."

_Great. _"Alrighty then. What's up?"

Giles cleared his throat. "I was just going to leave a message on your machine to have you call me back when you got in, but, I was wondering if you have made any headway on the vampire you trailed up north?"

I huffed. "Well, as I mentioned last night, I thought I had tracked him, but came up dry. Turns out the vamp I did encounter…"

"The one from your biology class?" he interrupted.

I nodded slowly as though he could see me. "Yes, Giles. Anyway, it turns out I got there too late. It was Mr. Over-bite that had gotten to the woman first."

Giles hummed and hawed for a moment on the other end of the call before he continued. "So, it wasn't this new vampire that attacked her?"

"Nope. He was totes of the innocent," I confirmed.

"Hmm, well, none-the-less, Buffy, you need to remain on guard when you go out tonight. It's bad enough you're up against one type of vampire night after night on your own. I'd hate if something dreadful happened should you run into this new breed again." His concern was sweet, but entirely misplaced.

I was about to tell him that he had nothing to be worried about concerning Edward and his family, when suddenly I heard Willow in the background. _"Oooh! Tell her about the thing…you know, the thing we found out…about the super-vamps?"_

Super-vamps_? _Calling them that made them sound completely unkillable, and it seemed crazy to me that there could be an unbeatable breed of vampire out there. What, was I going to need some sort of special weapon forged just for their destruction? Puh-lease.

"Giles, what's the sitch?" I prodded for more information.

"Yes, well, what Willow is trying to say is that after a late night of research, we were able to acquire a text that gave us a lead on this new breed," he started. I could hear the thick book hit the counter as he set it down in front of him.

"Oh, that's great, but Giles, I don't think…"

He cut me off to finish his train of thought. "Who knew that those blasted computers would actually be good for something? When we were unable to find anything in my books, we were forced to resort to the internet. Willow was able to locate a book that proved to be relatively helpful."

I cradled the phone between my shoulder and my ear as I inspected my fingernails for chips in the day old polish. "Wow, who knew Demons-R-Us went cyber?"

"Right, well we were able to track down a copy here in town, and after giving it a read, I have come across a useful piece of information on how to defeat them." He paused briefly. "You have to dismember them and then burn the pieces."

I had done far worse to demons in my years as the Slayer, but the thought of something like that happening to Edward made me grimace. Truth-be-told, it even made me a little nauseous. "Wow, that, um…seems like over-kill to me."

"Yes, well, from what we understand, if they're left unburned they can reassemble themselves," Giles continued.

A shudder rippled down my spine. "Geeze, that just opened a whole new can of freaky-deaky, now didn't it?"

"It does seem most bothersome, Buffy, but it's nothing you can't handle." Giles' voice seemed confident in my ability to keep the world safe, and some days I couldn't help but wonder if he was a few cards short a full deck. "Just promise me you'll be careful."

Trying to find a way to tell him that Edward and his family weren't an actual threat to me or my mission, I stopped picking at my chipped thumb nail and tilted my head upright, gripping the phone tightly with my right hand. "Right, well that's just it, Giles. I don't think I'm going to have to _handle_ anything."

I heard a light tap as Giles placed his glasses on the library counter. "Whatever do you mean?" I could envision his confused expression perfectly in my mind.

"He's one of the good guys," I told him as I pulled myself off the counter and headed for the living room to sit on the couch. With a soft sigh, I laid my head back and looked up at the stippling on the ceiling.

"You're sure of this?"

I rolled my eyes. "Yes, I'm _sure_, Giles. Gee, a little trust would be nice."

"I do apologize, Buffy." He sounded as though he were going to say something else until I heard Willow in the background.

"_Oooh, lemme talk?"_

With a reserved sigh, he relented to Willow's pleading for the phone. "Willow would like to speak with you. Do take care on your patrol tonight. You'll call when you get in?"

"Always," I assured him softly. "Talk to you later."

I heard the phone exchange hands before a squeal of excitement assaulted my eardrum. "Buffy! How are things in Forks?"

I lifted my head and sat forward. Her excitement was contagious as always. "Honestly, better than I expected." I could hear the change in my own voice as my thoughts immediately drifted back to Edward and how he made me feel when we were together.

Without missing a beat, Willow gasped quietly. "Buffy, do I hear some lusty-wrong tones in your voice?"

The girl knew me well. Even over the phone she could read me like a book. "Is Giles around?"

There was a brief pause before she spoke again. "Nope. He's in the stacks. Spill it."

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. "Will, I didn't think I would ever feel this way again. I mean, it's not love, you know? But I feel so drawn and connected to him. There's definitely something there."

"What's his name? Where did you meet? I need the dirty deets," she rambled in one breath.

"Willow!" I cried out in shock. "There's no 'dirty'. Could you get your mind out of the gutter for just a minute?" I laughed before I could go on. "Anyway…his name is Edward, I met him in Biology and…" I was suddenly nervous and unsure how to bring this next part up. I knew that my being attracted to another vampire wouldn't go over very well with everyone back home. "He's a vampire, Will." I whispered, unable to stop the shame from lacing my voice.

"Have you kissed him?" she asked quietly, completely bypassing my confession. Leave it to my Will to be totally understanding and behind me one hundred percent.

I didn't answer her soon enough. "Oh my goodness! You did, didn't you! You little hussy!"

"Will!"

"Oh admit it, Buffy. You kissed him and you liked it," she teased.

I had just opened my mouth to respond when I heard another familiar voice in the background. _"Who kissed who, now?"_

"Buffy kissed a _boy_," she told Xander.

"Willow, stop talking. Stop talking, _now_," I instructed, only mildly serious with the threatening tone in my voice.

As I thought more about Edward, it took me back to our brief lip-lock in school and only reminded me that I had probably lost any chance I had with him. "It doesn't even matter, anyway. I'm sure I've really made a mess of things."

"What do you mean?" she inquired quietly.

Feeling the need to lie down, I flopped down onto the couch with a heavy sigh. Covering my eyes with my free arm, I began to ramble. "Well, I asked him to help me hunt McBumpy and he refused. So, we argued. Things got heated, and before I knew what was happening, things got…_heated_."

"Okayyy…so, where's the badness?"

"The badness would be when he read my mind and I kind of…flipped out. I totally wigged, Will." I paused for a minute as I replayed everything in my brain one more time. The kiss, his body pressed up against my own, the feel of his cool lips on mine. It was a feeling I wanted to experience again and again.

"He…_read_ your mind?" she squeaked.

"Sure did."

"What were you thinking about?" she asked carefully, obviously not sure if she really wanted the answer.

"It was nothing bad. I was thinking how right it felt to be with him, he agreed out loud and I kind of freaked." Just saying the words enraged me, because I knew that I totally over-reacted and made a big deal out of nothing. "I'm such an idiot!" I shouted.

"No, you were caught off guard. I imagine anyone would have had an issue with it under the same circumstances." Her attempt to make me feel better wasn't working as well as I had hoped it would.

"Ugh, I don't know. Maybe it's for the best. I mean I have to leave after I get this vamp anyway. So maybe it's better that I don't get attached." The truth of my words upset me deeply.

"_What are you guys talking about?"_

"Go away, Xander!" Willow hissed through clenched teeth.

"_She's my friend, too!" _It sounded as though there was a scuffle, and a couple of girly _"Ow's"_ came from Xander as the phone clattered briefly against the countertop. "Buff!" he shouted into the mouthpiece, causing a slight vibration within my ear.

"_Alexander Harris!"_

"_Get over it, Rosenburg. You can't hog her!" _he retaliated jokingly.

"_Really, you two." _Giles' voice came from farther away. _"If you can't get along, I'll make you re-index the card catalogue."_

"Hey, Xand." It was beyond awesome to hear his voice. I missed them all so much, and a part of me couldn't wait to get back home to see them. The other part, though, couldn't find it in me to want to leave.

"So, Will tells me there's smoochies with the male persuasion happening up in the Pacific Northwest." He was nothing if not subtle.

I smiled with a shake of my head. "Ah, tactful as always, huh?"

"Meh, tact is just saying untrue things. So, what's the what? When are you coming home?"

"Not sure. I still have a vamp to dust. I'm hoping to get him tonight." I looked at the clock and realized that if I was going to be ready to head out at sundown, I would have to go soon.

"Hey, Xand, I have to get going so I can get ready for patrolling. I'll talk to you later, though?" I stood from the couch and walked over to my weapons bag, holding the phone between my shoulder and cheek as I picked up my crossbow to check its alignment. I set the weapon on my coffee table once I was certain it was up to par, and refocused on my phone call.

"You betcha. See you soon, Buff. Take care of yourself."

"You, too. Say hi to Cordy and Oz for me, okay?" I said as I let the phone fall from my shoulder, catching it fluidly and pressing 'end'. I tossed the phone down onto the couch and then headed to the kitchen for a quick bite to eat.

Once I had fed my body, I headed back to look through my cache of weapons. I pulled out a few bolts for my crossbow and set them down on the table before grabbing a few bottles of holy water to join them.

Last, but certainly not least, I picked up Mr. Pointy and slid him into the inside pocket of my leather jacket. I slipped the small bottles into the side pockets, and hooked the bolts into their notches on the crossbow before slinging it across my back.

After taking one last inventory check of the things I would need for tonight, I turned for my door. I was ready for this; I just hoped he wasn't too hard to track so I could end it quickly.

I unlocked the door and yanked it open. My breath caught in my throat as I looked up into the golden eyes of Edward Cullen.

* * *

**A/N: We know many of you were probably looking for more Buffy/ Edward action in these last two chapters, but we felt it was important for them to connect with their respective loved ones regarding the subject of…well, them. We'll be back to our regularly scheduled action next chapter. Promise ;)**

**Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

"_**Grrr…Argh!" ;)**_


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...**

* * *

_**(Edward)**_

_I can do this... I can do this... _

Wait, exactly what was I doing?

An immediate apology was definitely in order, as well as an explanation. She deserved so much more, but I could at least start with that.

I walked up to her apartment building and was pleased to see the door was once again propped open with a small rock. After letting myself in, I made my way down the hallway and stopped in front of her door.

She was obviously home, because I could hear her clattering around inside. Dishes clanked together as they were dropped into the sink, and then her quick footsteps crossed the room.

_"Okay...crossbow, bolts, holy water, Mr. Pointy...that's everything. It's show time," _she thought.

Whoa...that was quite the list of weapons. I must have caught her just before she went out to hunt that foreign vampire of hers. This kind of put me in an awkward position.

On the one hand, I knew that tracking down and destroying another creature, no matter how evil it may be, went against everything Carlisle had lead me to believe in.

I had played God once, after all, and no matter how much I tried to justify my actions now, I couldn't deny the truth. I had killed people; I was a murderer. I really didn't want to go back there, not unless I had no other choice.

There was another hand to consider, though, one that reminded me of how badly I had messed up earlier, and how much it would mean to her if agreed to go along. If she was still interested in my company, that is. Could I compromise my values to help someone I cared about? Should I?

I sighed and raised my hand to knock, but before I did, the door swung open and Buffy stood before me, ready for battle. The pockets of her oversized brown leather jacket were bulging with what I assumed to be the tools of her trade, and she had a loaded crossbow slung across one shoulder.

Even though her "duty" went against my distaste for death and destruction, I had to admit that something about a girl who could kick major ass was seriously hot.

I cleared my throat before attempting to speak. "Um, hello."

Buffy just stared at me blankly, the shocked expression on her face doing little to assuage my nervousness.

I tried again. "I, um, hope this isn't a bad time..."

She blinked at me and opened her mouth as if to speak, but then closed it without a word.

This was not going well. "Maybe I should just go," I said reluctantly. "Sorry to bother you..."

"No!" Buffy piped up suddenly. "No...I'm sorry, don't go. I just...this is..."

"Yeah," I said softly. "I know."

She nodded and gave me a small smile, which I returned, relieved.

"Listen, I just want to you know how sorry I am for not telling you about my...abilities...sooner. I didn't mean to keep it from you, it's just not something easily brought up in conversation."

A breathy laugh escaped Buffy. "Right," she replied. "It's okay. I know a thing or two about having secret abilities."

I chuckled. "Yes, I suppose you do. We have that in common, at least."

We smiled at each other shyly for a moment, with my own awkward expression reflected back at me in her mind, until I couldn't take it anymore and finally burst out laughing.

Buffy arched an eyebrow at me. "Did I miss the punch line?" she asked warily.

"I'm so sorry," I wheezed before attempting to compose myself. "No, the only joke here is me. I could see my own face in your mind, and the look I was giving you was absolutely ridiculous. I can't believe you actually find _this_ attractive." I finished, gesturing to myself.

"Well, maybe not _that_," Buffy replied in response to the weird expression I was purposely making. "But otherwise..." She trailed off and suddenly I was bombarded with images of myself in various states and poses throughout the day, as well as visions of her and me in other...states and poses.

I stepped back dizzily as the intensity of her imagination nearly knocked me over. "Whoa..."

"What's wrong?" Buffy asked, startled by my sudden spell.

"Nothing. I just... You were..." I pointed to my temple, trying to say it without actually having to say it.

"Oh, God!" Buffy gasped as she blushed a deep pink. "I really need to learn to control that."

"Don't be embarrassed," I said quickly, trying to make her feel better as she looked at the ground in obvious mortification. "It's not like I haven't thought about that once or twice myself."

Buffy's head snapped up and her eyes met mine. She looked genuinely shocked. "Really? You've thought about...that? For us?"

"Well, sure," I said awkwardly, inwardly cursing myself for jumping in front of this bullet. "I mean...I'm a man, and you're a...woman...and we, um...like each other...right?"

Her smile could have re-lit the sun. "We do," she replied, trying and failing to contain her excitement. Happiness looked amazing on her; I didn't want her to hide it.

"Yeah," I breathed, reaching up to run my fingers down her cheek. She closed her eyes as her flesh warmed under my touch. "So, um, what now?"

"Hmm?" Buffy hummed, clearly lost in the moment.

"Where do we go from here?" I asked quietly, my voice coming out huskier than I intended it to. Buffy's eyes snapped open and her passionate gaze met mine. "I mean...with us. Not...with that. Well, not right this minute, anyways." _Smooth, Edward, really smooth_.

"Oh," she replied. "Oh! I'm supposed to be on patrol! Shoot...I'm sorry, but I have to go. Giles will be expecting my report tonight."

I nodded my understanding. "Yeah, um, about that... I'll come with you. If you still want me to."

"You will? I mean, yes...of course I want you to, but why? What made you change your mind?"

I shrugged, grinning at her. "I just want to be with you."

She smiled back at me. "I like being with you, too."

After locking the front door, Buffy took my hand and we walked the darkening streets slowly, watching and waiting for any signs of her Old One. We chatted easily, sharing and learning about each other and our respective worlds.

She told me all about her beloved friends back in Sunnydale, and how her Watcher, Giles, while strict and stuffy, was also one of her most favourite people in the world. Buffy smiled wistfully as she told me their stories, her eyes sparkling with the love and admiration she held for each of them.

I listened raptly, absorbing every little fascinating detail of her life she revealed to me. I was surprised to learn just how much vampire slaying actually she did, as well as about the many other monsters she confronted regularly. Witches, demons, woman-sized Praying Mantises - I had always thought these creatures were just stories meant to scare children into behaving properly. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine that they could be real.

Buffy laughed when I told her so. "Well, technically...you're one of those scary stories, too," she reminded me.

"Yes, I suppose I am," I agreed. "But then, so are you. My father, Carlisle, read about the legend of the Slayer in a very old book he has."

"The legend of the Slayer?" Buffy repeated. "That makes me sound like some kind of superhero or something. I'm just a girl...or at least, I try to be."

I stopped walking. The sad tone in her voice pulled at my still, dead heart in a way I hadn't felt for a very long time. "What do you mean you 'try to be just a girl'?"

"I don't know," she said softly. "Being the Slayer...it consumes my whole life. No matter where I am, it's always there. I can never just be a normal, eighteen year old girl, or do normal, eighteen year old girl stuff."

She sounded so lost, like she was being called in two different directions and didn't know which path was really meant for her. I pulled her into a hug as her thoughts flickered with images of sleepovers and movie nights and trips to the beach. It didn't make sense to me. She went to school after all, so what was the big deal about a few extracurricular activities? "I don't understand," I said. "Why can't you be the Slayer and do all those things, too?"

"It's not that I _can't_ do them." she replied. "I mean, sure, I can hang at the Bronze, or go to the movies with the gang, or even have a sleepover with Will, but I can never really fully _be_ there. In the end, I always have to be ready for a fight. I always have to be ready to kill. There's no such thing as a day off for me."

We had reached the Forks' Primary school by that point, and made our way around the back to the playground. "That's...unfortunate," I said as we each took a swing and began to sway lazily. "It sounds a lot of pressure to bear for just 'one girl in all the world'."

"Two," Buffy corrected. "Two girls in all the world."

"Oh," I said lamely. "I thought Carlisle said 'one', my mistake."

"No, it's supposed to be one, but, I died...just for a few minutes...so another slayer was called and now there's two of us," she clarified. "Or at least there were, before Dru...uh, never mind. Another will be called soon, though, and I'm sure we'll run into each other at some point."

So much of what she had just said required a compassionate, heartfelt response, but I could only seem to focus on one thing. "You...died?" I gasped.

"Yep, and yet, here I am. It's...a long story. Let's not get into it tonight."

"Ok, but, wow..."" I breathed. "You really are a legend."

She laughed half-heartedly. "If you say so."

"No, really, you are," I insisted. "I mean, you're strong, funny, beautiful, you go to school and have great friends, and on top of all that you fight evil and make the world a safer place. That's pretty amazing."

Buffy stared at me as if she dared not believe my words were true. "You almost manage to make it all sound glamorous," she joked sarcastically. "It's not. It's just...who I am. Nothing more, nothing less."

"I wish I could make you see yourself the way I do," I said softly. "If I had a soul, I'd trade it just so you could see through my eyes for a day. Then you'd truly know how incredible you are."

Her brow furrowed as she eyed me in confusion. "_If_ you had a soul? What is that supposed to mean?"

"Oh," I replied awkwardly. My eternal damnation was not a subject I liked to discuss at length, but seeing that she had shared so much with me, I certainly couldn't hold back now. "Well, um, being a vampire...I'm pretty sure I had to trade my soul for eternal life. So, if there does turn out to be some sort of after-life for me, I'm pretty sure I won't be spending it in Heaven. I mean, I don't have any proof, but...that's always how I've felt about it."

"Proof?" Buffy said incredulously. "Oh, you've got a soul, mister, and I have all the proof you'll ever need. _You care_ - it's as simple as that. I've spent the last couple of years battling more than my fair share of evil, and I've seen what beings without a soul are truly like. They live for pain, and destruction, and death. They think a fun way to spend Friday night is torturing anyone they can get their hands on. I've seen a good man...a man who was sweet, and kind, and loving...lose his soul and become a monster who hurt and killed the people he once cared about." Her voice broke as she said this, but she just took a deep breath and carried on. "Not you, though. You are so much better than one of them. You have friends, and a family that you love, and you have compassion and respect for human life...how could you feel those things without a soul? You couldn't. Believe me. You...have...a...soul."

I didn't know what to say. She spoke with such sincerity and conviction that it was nearly impossible for me not to believe her. I _wanted_ to believe her. "Buffy, I..."

"Uhh!"

Before I could finish, Buffy was knocked to the ground and an ugly, growling creature stood over her, grinning at me evilly. His misshapen forehead and jagged teeth left no question in my mind; this was the Old One we were looking for.

I launched myself at the vampire, hitting him square in the chest with the palm of my right hand and sending him flying backward. He sailed through the air before landing twenty feet away just as Buffy got to her feet.

"Are you okay?" I asked frantically, looking her over as thoroughly as I could in two seconds.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she replied. "You?"

I nodded.

"Good. Okay, just...stay there!" Without another word, Buffy took off running to where the old vamp was just getting up from the ground.

As if I was going to just stand here and watch as she put her life at risk...

I followed quickly, catching up within a second and stopping short just as she did.

"Well, well...if it isn't my old friend. Oh wait, no it isn't...because you're a vampire and I'm about to kill you," Buffy said menacingly.

The Old One growled deep in his throat and lunged forward, only to be met with a powerful roundhouse kick to the face. He stumbled back, momentarily disoriented, but quickly regained his composure and struck at her again.

This time Buffy meant business, punching him straight in the nose before landing a fist in his stomach followed by an uppercut to the jaw. The creature's head snapped back and he wobbled slightly, giving her the perfect opportunity to sweep his feet out from under him with one deft swing of her leg. He fell on his back, hard, hitting his head on a bench anchored just at the edge of the sand. A loud crack echoed throughout the field as his skull met the thick wooden seat, making me cringe. _Ouch._

Buffy didn't miss a beat, pulling a sharpened stake from her jacket and aiming a downward thrust straight at the Old One's chest. Her arm sliced through the air with precision, but the vampire rolled away at the last second and she pierced only the grass where he had lay.

Seeing his chance to fight back, the creature grabbed Buffy's hair and pulled her to the ground roughly. He then wrapped his hands around her neck and squeezed, making her choke and claw at his arms desperately.

I didn't even think.

Before I realized what I was doing, I had picked up the Old One and tossed him into the climbing apparatus in the center of the playground. His body struck a wooden ladder mounted to the side of it and fell to the sand in a crumpled heap.

I turned to attend to Buffy, but she had already gotten to her feet, removed her jacket, and was rushing to where the injured vampire was struggling to stand. He managed to right himself before she arrived, and swung his arms wildly in a frantic attempt to defend himself.

His efforts were a waste, though, because as soon as Buffy reached him she slammed a fist into his forehead while simultaneously kneeing him in the groin. He caved in on himself and retreated a few steps backward, only to find himself pressed up against the wooden ladder he had crashed into only seconds ago.

"This has been fun, but play time's over," Buffy panted, and then she drove her stake straight through the vampire's heart.

I watched in stunned silence as the Old One screamed before he exploded into a pile of ashes that fluttered down to the ground. Buffy stepped back and turned to face me, winking and blowing on the tip of her stake as if it was a smoking gun. She had totally kicked his ass. She...she _destroyed_ him. In all my years I had never seen anything so incredibly sexy.

Before she could blink I was across the sand, pulling her into my arms and pressing my lips to hers. Her mouth met mine eagerly, pecking and nipping at my lips while her tongue tried to deepen our kiss. God, how I wished that were possible, but my venom-laced, razor-sharp teeth forced me to hold back. I focussed my attention on her neck instead, travelling kisses down her jaw to the delicate bumps of her collarbones.

Buffy sighed softly as she tilted her head back, allowing me better access to the tender flesh of her throat. I ran my nose down the line of her carotid artery, breathing deeply and savouring the spicy-sweet scent of her body.

Her blood pounded furiously through her veins, electrifying me from head to toe and charging the air around us with raging desire until I couldn't take it anymore. My hands left the small of her back and traveled up under her shirt, exploring the swells and curves of her chest, stomach and hips. She was magnificent - strong and soft in a perfect balance of woman.

The night was cool but her skin blazed like fire, so I slowly began to work her sweater up her torso, giving her more than enough time to stop me if I was going too far. She didn't; I wasn't. We both wanted this. With her shirt now on the ground behind me, I let my mouth finish what my hands had started, marvelling at the quiet moans she made under my tender touch.

Thankful that I had both my super-natural hearing and mind reading abilities to warn me if anyone dared to approach, I shed my own shirt and pressed our bodies together tightly. She gasped when my icy skin met her fiery flesh, but didn't let the shock keep her from running her fingers across the planes of my shoulders and back.

The heat of her hands on me was like being caressed by streams of warm water; I could have drowned in the feeling of her touch. I wanted more. I wanted to experience every inch of her, while sharing all of myself in return. I wanted to feel her everywhere - on my body, in my heart, and in my soul. I wanted us to be one.

Reluctantly pulling myself away from Buffy, I picked up our shirts and led her by the hand to a small copse of trees at the edge of the school grounds. The leaves had yet to fall and the grass was still soft, so I lay down beneath the canopy and pulled Buffy with me. We fell into a heap, laughing as our bodies crashed together, but soon our lust took over and we attacked each other fervently.

With our clothes shed and our hearts laid bare, we made love under the moon and the stars, sighing and moaning as we moved in rhythm together. I never knew such ecstasy could exist as the feeling of our bodies being joined, sliding and rubbing against each others' until we reached the release we both craved.  
When we were done, we lay naked in the grass just holding one another while a light breeze blew over us, cooling Buffy's heated flesh.

"Are you cold?" I asked when goosebumps popped up all over her body.

"A little," she admitted quietly. "But a slight chill isn't enough to get me to let go of you."

I chuckled and squeezed her against me one more time before gently untangling our bodies and standing up. "Yeah well, I'm probably the cause of your slight chill, so why don't we get dressed and I'll walk you home," I suggested.

"Oh," she said nervously, awkward and unsure. "I guess that's a good idea. You'll probably want to be getting home, too."

I didn't need to read her mind to know what she was thinking. "That's not it at all," I said, attempting to reassure her of my feelings. "I just don't want you catching cold out here. We can pick up where we left off once we're warm and comfortable, right?" It was presumptuous for me to assume she wanted me to stay with her, but I wanted to badly enough that I didn't care if saying so made me a cad.

"Yes, we can. That sounds great," Buffy replied, her beautiful face once again alight with a dazzling smile. "Let's go."

* * *

**A/N: Thanks for reading!! Please review!! **

"_**Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17…**

* * *

_**(Buffy)**_

We were walking down the dimly lit hall toward my apartment when suddenly I heard the shrill sound of someone's phone ringing. It was after one in the morning, and I cringed for the owner of the phone, while at the same time, feared for the life of the caller.

"Um, Buffy?" Edward's smooth velvet voice tickled my ear and his strong arms wrapped around my waist. "I think that's _your_ telephone," he whispered as his lips tenderly kissed my cheek.

I was just beginning to melt into his embrace when his words registered. "Oh my God! I was supposed to check in forever ago!" My body tensed right before I flung myself out of his arms and bolted for my door. "Ooooh…this is so not good!"

I pulled my keys out of my pocket and fumbled with them as I tried to unlock the door, even dropping them once in the process. "Hold on, hold on, hold on," I chanted quietly, my right leg bouncing frantically as my distress increased.

After what seemed like an eternity, the key finally slid into the lock and I turned it sharply. I pushed the door open so quickly it bounced off the wall as I threw myself into the kitchen to grab the phone. "Hello?" I gasped into the handset as my upper body slumped onto the counter.

"Oh, thank goodness." Giles' voice was barely a whisper as he breathed his gratitude. "Buffy, have you any idea what time it is?" he asked. I was pretty sure he had even removed his glasses so he could give the stink eye to the empty air in front of him, wishing it was me.

I could hear Edward chuckle lightly from the doorway as he gently closed the door and waited in the entry while I finished up on the phone.

"Yeah, I'm sorry. I just got in," I explained, hoping he wasn't too angry or crazy-worried for me.

He sighed exasperatedly. "I hate to seem over-bearing, Buffy..."

_Really? _

Edward laughed, and I realized that his mind-reading was going to take some time to get used to. _Time I don't have anymore_. His chuckle was short lived, and sadness flashed briefly in his eyes as my thoughts reached him. All I could do was offer him a reassuring, and slightly apologetic, smile before returning to my phone call.

"No need to wig, Giles." I shifted so I was leaning with my hip against the counter, my body now facing Edward. "I'm home, I'm in one piece...I'm of the good," I added with a slight nod of my head, as if affirming that fact with the room.

"And that's all very well and good, but it doesn't excuse the fact that we were all terribly worried when you failed to check in. You've always made a point to assure us of your safety when patrolling," he said in his very British attempt to scold me.

"I know. I must have gotten distracted and…lost track of the time." I whispered as my eyes strayed from Edward's and a blush crept across my cheeks. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to freak you guys out." I paused for a moment, awaiting his response. When I didn't get one, I decided to carry on. "If it's any comfort, I got the job done." It wasn't until I looked up and saw the proud look of accomplishment on Edward's face that I realized my words held a double meaning.

_Dusting the vampire, Mr. Conceited. _

"Mmm hmm," he hummed so quietly I almost didn't hear.

Even over the phone, I could sense Giles' unease begin to lift with the news that I had taken out the vampire. "Well, that's excellent news, Buffy. Your mother should be pleased to hear you will be returning shortly. She's missed you terribly. Will you need us to make your travel arrangements?"

My heart strained in my chest, and I had to look away from Edward again, because I couldn't stand to see the look in his eyes as we discussed my leaving. Hell, I didn't want him to see the look in my eyes as we made plans for me to walk out on the best thing that had happened to me in forever.

Suddenly, his arms were around my waist as he pulled me against him, hugging me tightly. I wrapped my arms around his neck, the phone still in my left hand and the fingers of my right combing through his silky hair as I gulped in his scent greedily.

"Shhhh," he whispered soothingly. "It'll be okay. We'll figure it out." I nodded my head, which was still pressed firmly into his shoulder.

"Buffy? Buffy, are you there?" Giles' voice grew more impatient the longer I kept him waiting.

I pulled my face from Edward's sweet scent and brought the phone to my ear. "Yeah," I answered. "Sorry, I was just, um…locking up." _Why am I lying? _

Lowering his hands, Edward lifted me so I was sitting on the counter top. He positioned himself between my legs and gently brushed my hair behind my shoulders. His eyes seemed to be roaming over my face as if he were trying to memorize it all. My eye color, my unique nose, every freckle, every scar…As I thought about these parts of me that I had once thought to be imperfections, he kissed each one tenderly.

"Not to worry, Buffy. I'll talk to your mother in the morning and we will arrange for your trip back. She will call the school and have them fax your transcripts." Giles' voice was no more than background noise. He was actually starting to sound like the adults in the Charlie Brown cartoons as Edward nuzzled my neck and inhaled deeply.

I tilted my head so my cheek brushed against his. "Okay, sounds good," I said to Giles, only half sure of what I was agreeing to, as Edward's cold breath caused goosebumps to cover every inch of my body.

"Very well. We look forward to seeing you when you get back home." There was a brief pause, and I was just about to say goodnight when he spoke again. "Oh, before I go, how was the rest of your patrol? Did you come across that new vampire?"

I was so startled by his question that my eyes snapped open and my head flew back, smacking hard against the cupboard door. Edward lifted his head quickly, his concerned eyes searching for any sign of major head trauma.

_Nope, just trauma to my pride._ I offered him a reassuring smile as I rubbed the back of my head. "Um, yeah I did, actually. We don't have to worry about him." I smiled at Edward. "He's one of the good guys. We can trust him," I said, pushing his copper hair off his forehead.

Giles' tone turned dark. "Normally, I would trust your judgment, Buffy, but the last vampire you trusted…" I didn't need him to finish that sentence; I was far too happy to revisit that part of my life.

"Look, I have to go. Everything here is golden. If you talk to mom before I do, let her know I'll call her before I leave town. Goodnight." I hung up the phone quickly and placed it behind me before resting my hands on Edward's shoulders, ready to melt into his yumminess.

A sly smile played across his face and his eyes sparkled. "So, do you make it a habit to befriend many vampires?"

I shrugged slightly as I tried to keep the subject matter light. "I consider it less of a 'habit' and more like a 'flaw'," I joked lamely, tightening my legs around his waist and forcing him even nearer to me.

He moved his face closer to mine until his lips were barely brushing my own. "Well, lucky for you, it's one I can get on board with," he whispered against my mouth before his lips claimed mine.

I smiled against his mouth as his arms tightened around my waist in an effort to hold me firmly against him. Heat ran through my entire body as a pleasant montage of memories from the park came flooding back.

It was hard to believe I was so happy. I had been feeling guilty for so long that I had forgotten how good it felt to…to actually _feel_. I just couldn't believe it had to end so soon.

I instantly regretted my last thought as Edward's body stiffened and his lips stopped moving with mine. "When?" he asked, his eyes smoldering as he awaited my answer.

I shrugged. "Whenever my mom can get my travel arrangements made, I guess." My voice was quiet, and I felt my body begin to slump.

"Will I ever see you again?" There was a tone of hopefulness in his voice, but it seemed haloed with despair.

I smiled, hoping to reassure him that this wasn't goodbye. "You could always come visit," I suggested.

His answering chuckle was just what we needed to lighten the mood. "Somehow I doubt that a town called 'Sunnydale' would be the right place for me to visit. I may not burst into flames, but I wouldn't go by unnoticed."

"What? Do you sparkle like a princess' tiara?" I jokingly asked as a hysterical bout of laughter erupted from me. When he didn't answer, my laugh died and my eyes widened in shock, while my hands flew to my mouth in a too-late attempt to shut the hell up.

"Well, I wouldn't describe it in that way, exactly," he answered, sounding slightly offended as he moved to pull away from me.

I hopped down from the counter and stepped in front of him. Placing my hands on his stomach and using more of my strength than I would normally need to, I was able to hold him in place. "I'm sorry, I really didn't mean anything by it." _Ugh! I'm such an insensitive brat!_ I inwardly scolded myself.

"No," he began, cradling my face between his hands. "It's not that." He let out a large breath. "I just…don't know how to say goodbye to you."

I stood on the very tips of my toes and placed a soft kiss on his still lips. "Then don't," I told him as I took his hands in mine and walked backward down the hall that led to my bedroom.

"Buffy," he began.

I looked up at him through my eyelashes. "Stay with me," I pleaded softly, continuing to lead him to my room. With a smile toying at the corners of my lips, I pulled him through the door and over to the bed. I turned us and pushed him down into a sitting position before I straddled his waist. Resting my hands on his shoulders and leaning forward, I crushed my lips to his in a desperate need to feel the same fire from earlier that night.

I wasn't disappointed as his fingers fisted my hair, pulling my face closer to his. That same intense passion was there in full force, just as it had been when the adrenaline had been coursing through me after my hunt.

My hands moved quickly to the hem of his shirt and I began to tug it upward. Reluctantly, he unwrapped his arms from my waist and held them up as I all-but tore the shirt off, discarding it to the floor behind us.

With his chest now bare, he looked at me hungrily as his hands moved to strip me of my sweater. I wasn't paying attention to where it landed as he tossed it, because my hands were busy roaming over the cold, chiseled planes of his upper body.

I watched as his eyes moved across my bare skin and hooded further in lust—if that was even possible. I made a move to press my lips to his again, but he dodged me and placed his mouth on my chest in a gentle flurry of kisses.

"Oh God," I sighed when his hands gripped my shoulders roughly and he pressed me against him.

His lips trailed their way up my neck until they reached my jaw. He moved his head back slightly and our eyes met.

"Are you sure we should do this? I don't want to make things hard – errr...more difficult than they have to be," he said, quickly correcting his Freudian slip.

I understood what he meant, though. My leaving soon would definitely put a major kibosh on this... on _us_. But wasn't it best to live in the moment? That was something I had believed once upon a time, and truly wanted to be able to believe in again.

I smiled and placed my hands along his jaw. "All I know is that before I met you, I was unhappy for so long...about so many different things." I paused as I tried to find the words that would best describe how he had helped me heal. "It was as though I was stumbling through the darkness of my past. Going through the motions and just trying to get through the day knowing what I had done...what I was capable of doing. I didn't think I deserved to be happy."

His eyes widened as I spoke. "Buffy…" he began, but I held up my hand to silence him. I knew he could see what I was thinking about, and that was okay. I was ready to move on...and this was the first step to doing just that.

I smiled at him. "I don't know what this," I motioned between the two of our chests as I continued, "means to you, but I've found feelings I thought to be long lost, and I don't know that once I get home I'll experience this connection again.

"So, when you ask me if I'm sure..." I paused to brush the hair off of his forehead. "Yes, I am sure. About you, about me, about us. I want you, Edward. "

He looked into my eyes, absorbing everything I told him—verbally as well as mentally—before our lips became one again. His hands quickly moved to my backside, gripping it roughly and flipping us over on my bed.

Once our clothes were discarded to the floor, we pressed our bodies together—hot against cold—and made love again. As we moved together in perfect synchronicity, I nipped at his bottom lip and licked at the crease of his mouth in an effort to deepen our already passionate kiss, while at the same time his hands moved over my body, memorizing every curve and setting my skin ablaze.

With a low groan, he pulled his mouth away from mine, drawing a breath of air in through his teeth. When I looked up at him, I found the normally gold tone of his eyes to be overtaken with the blacks of his pupils.

I cupped his face with my hands as we stared longingly at one another, our ecstasy peaking with every minute that passed. As the moonlight shone through the window, I noticed a subtle glint reflecting off of his perfect flesh, making him impossibly more beautiful to me.

In that instant, his eyes hooded and he moaned before dropping his face and claiming my lips once more as our pleasure culminated in the most amazing way.

"Wow," I panted, pushing my hair away from my face. His cool flesh felt amazing against the heat my body was radiating as I tried to regulate my breathing.

Edward rolled to my right, pulling me with him so that my left leg draped over his hip. "You must have read my mind," he teased, stroking his fingers delicately up my back.

I lifted my head from his shoulder to roll my eyes at him. "Well aren't you just all kinds of funny."

He opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly there was frantic knocking at my door. I glanced at my alarm clock and realized that it was only shortly after three in the morning.

"What the hell?" I muttered as I twisted away from Edward. "I'll be right back." I assured him as I grabbed the first shirt I could find off of my floor.

As soon as I pulled it down over my face, I knew it was Edward's by the smell. The shirt fell to the tops of my thighs and hung off one shoulder as I pulled the weirdo-obsessive-chick move and held the collar up to my nose while I walked out of the room.

I was five steps from the door when I heard him gasp. "Buffy, wait! It's my…" In the two seconds that it took me to reach for the door knob, I heard rustling back in my room before Edward's shirtless body appeared at my side. He had just finished buttoning his pants as I pulled the door open. "Parents," he finished as my eyes fell upon the two flawless vampires standing before me.

"Oh thank God," the gorgeous female breathed as her right hand moved to her chest and her rigid posture softened. Her caramel-coloured hair was styled immaculately around her heart-shaped face, and her eyes showed the relief that was audible in her voice.

As we stood there staring at each other awkwardly, I noticed that they seemed to be taking in my last minute wardrobe choice, as well as Edward's lack of clothing. Suddenly mortified, my one hand tried pulling Edward's shirt lower on my legs, only causing the shoulder of the shirt to fall lower down my arm, while the other tried to fix my sex-hair.

_Fantastic. Way to make a lasting first impression, Buffy._

I knew Edward heard my thoughts of mega-discomfort when he stepped around me and faced his parents, blocking as much of me as possible from their view. "Carlisle, Esme? What are you guys doing here?"

The man, Carlisle, kept his amber eyes trained on me. He didn't seem afraid or intimidated, though, more like…fascinated.

He smiled warmly. "We're terribly sorry, son. When you didn't return home or check in, well, we panicked." His eyes briefly went to Edward's before they met mine again.

A small smile broke out across my face. _That's cute. He's got his own Giles, too._ Edward's head shifted to the right as he smirked and shot me a wink.

He moved his eyes back to his father. "Yeah, sorry about that. We only just got back. I meant to be home sooner, but…"

Carlisle's smile lit up his Adonis-like features, more than I thought was even possible, as he held up his hands. "No need to apologize. We're just glad you're all right." He moved his eyes from me to Edward, and they seemed to brighten. He looked back at Edward expectantly before Edward decided to buy a vowel.

"Oh! I'm so sorry." He turned to me and pulled me forward, obviously forgetting my inappropriate wardrobe choice. "Carlisle, Esme, this is Buffy Summers. Buffy, these are my parents."

Holding the shirt in an attempt to keep it from rising up, I held out my hand to Esme first, but instead of shaking it, she pulled me into a tight hug. "Oh!" I exclaimed as the air left my body upon impact with hers.

"It's such a pleasure, Buffy."

I placed my hands on her shoulders in an awkward attempt to return her embrace. "Yeah, um, it's so nice to meet you, too," I said, suddenly very uncomfortable with the sweater that was slowly creeping up my backside.

We ended our embrace, and I found Carlisle still staring at me. I offered him my hand. "Hi," I greeted lamely.

"In all my days, I never thought I'd actually meet the Slayer," he boasted.

"Wow, a vampire wanting to cross paths with a Slayer." I nudged Edward's elbow. "Guess I know where the masochism comes from."

Edward's answering laugh drew surprised looks from his parents.

"He doesn't do that too often, huh?" I inquired. They shook their heads slowly in response.

Edward scratched the back of his neck nervously, and I couldn't help my wandering eyes from roaming over his perfect body as the muscles moved beneath his skin. My fantasies suddenly took a turn for the kinky.

Edward cleared his throat, drawing my eyes up to his.

"Subtle," he teased, causing my face to turn every shade of red known to man.

He turned back to Esme and Carlisle. "So, I'll be home later, then," he said in an obvious attempt to get them to go away.

Esme seemed to catch on first, but Carlisle's focus was back on me. He almost seemed to be star struck or something. It was definitely an odd way to gain an ego-boost.

"Of course, dear. We'll see you later." She turned to walk away before she realized Carlisle hadn't moved or even acknowledged Edward. "Carlisle. I think they'd like to be alone," she hissed.

He blinked his eyes quickly and smiled. "Of course. Buffy, it was a pleasure to meet you."

"Yes. We'll have to do this again, under less naked circumstances." _Did I seriously just say that? What the hell is wrong with me?_

As I cringed at my comment, Edward closed my door with a smirk. "'Less naked circumstances,' huh?"

"Yup. My humiliation has definitely reached all-new depths of horrifying. Sometimes I don't even think my brain is connected to my mouth," I joked. "Let's be honest, though, it's not the most embarrassing thing I've said in the last forty-eight hours," I pointed out.

"Oh, I don't know," he began as he pressed his lips to the hollow under my ear, making me shiver. "I thought it was endearing." He kissed the side of my neck, and my knees buckled slightly. Holding me upright against his body, he brought a hand up to pull the collar of his sweater further off of my shoulder, kissing it tenderly.

I could barely find my voice. "Yes, humiliating myself in front of the parentals is always a turn on," I quipped, hoping it came off as sarcastic, because I was feeling pretty incoherent every time his lips touched my skin. I wasn't even sure I was speaking English at that point.

"Well, I think you're unbelievably sexy," he whispered, his cold breath causing a slight shiver to ripple through me.

Unable to control the sudden fatigue that threatened to pull me under, I yawned, and then pulled away from Edward's tender caresses to quickly apologize. "I'm so sorry."

A warm smile spread across his face and he released his hold on me. "Don't be," he said reassuringly. His hand took mine and led me back toward my room. "Come on, it's late. You should get some sleep."

I sidled right up next to him and wrapped my free arm around the one he was using to hold my hand. "You mean _we _should get some sleep."

He exhaled somewhat nervously. "Actually, I don't...sleep, that is."

My pace slowed as he continued to pull me down the hallway. "You don't sleep? Seriously?" I paused as I tried to wrap my brain around this new piece of information. "So, what? You're just going to..._watch_?"

He chuckled as we crossed the threshold into my room. "You make it sound so...so _dirty_."

"I wouldn't say dirty. Creepy, sure. Stalkerific, definitely…but not dirty," I teased.

"Can I help it if I find something as peaceful as you sleeping simply fascinating?" he asked as he pulled the heavy duvet back and ushered me beneath it.

I laid my head on the pillow. "I suppose not, but you may want to dial down on watching girls as they sleep. It could get you an appointment with the Chief of Police as he slaps you with a restraining order."

"Who? Chief Swan? I don't think there's anything I could do to get on his bad side," he said, climbing into the bed next to me and pulling me to him.

"Let's hope not," I mumbled as I rested my head on his bare chest and allowed my eyes to drift closed, truly at peace for the first time in a long time.

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**A/N: ****Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

"_**Grrr…Argh!" ;)**_


	11. Chapter 11

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17...always.**

* * *

_**(Edward)**_

I held Buffy in my arms as she slept peacefully against my chest, with a thick comforter between us to protect her from the chill of my skin.

She only stirred once through the night, when her dreams shifted from their pleasant, carefree scenes to one of her standing before a great, swirling vortex, a bloodied sword at her feet and tears streaming down her face.

Distressed but unforgivably curious, I had watched as she dropped to her knees and began to cry hysterically. Then much to my surprise, I walked into the dream and offered her my hand. Sniffling and swallowing thickly, she took it and rose, allowing me to wipe the wetness from her cheeks with the very tips of my cold fingers. Her eyes closed and a small smile graced her lips when my skin touched hers, and then we both leaned forward slowly to capture a kiss. The vortex behind her shimmered as our mouths met passionately, exploding into a thousand tiny stars that melted to dust as they hit the ground. Buffy turned her head to where the source of her anguish had once taunted her, and then looked back to me with a bright and happy smile on her face. Leaving it all behind, we walked hand in hand from the room and out into the darkened streets, disappearing into the distance as everything behind us began to burn.

The sun was just now starting to rise behind the ever-present clouds in Forks, but Buffy slept on, oblivious to my strife as I replayed her dream over and over in my head.

I knew from the moment we met that some sadness and guilt was festering inside her; it was always there at the forefront of her thoughts, peeking through but never fully revealing itself. Now it seemed from her dream that she had managed to leave behind the memories that haunted her, and that somehow I had helped unknowingly.

What did that mean for her? For me? For us?

Sadly, I knew the answer to that question already. There could never be an 'us'. She had a destiny to fulfill in California, killing monsters and saving the world from evil, while I had my life to live here, too. Buffy couldn't abandon her duty to stay with me, while neither could I leave my family to go with her. As much as it pained me to admit it, we just weren't meant to be.

I was sure there had to be a reason fate brought us together, though, even for this brief time. Why did we end up meeting here in this gloomy little town? What were we to each other?

Buffy stirred just then, groaning softly and pressing her body against mine as she snuggled deeper into my embrace.

"Did I snore?" she mumbled. "Or say anything embarrassing in my sleep?"

"No," I replied with a chuckle.

"Oh good," she breathed. "It's hard enough trying to control my thoughts around you when I'm awake...sleep is a whole 'nother realm of impossible for me."

I laughed but quickly sobered in response to her statement. "You don't have to hide from me, you know. I care about you; I would never judge you for who you are, or what you think about, or..." I hesitated. "...what you've done."

Buffy pulled away from me slowly, sitting up and looking straight into my eyes. "What did you see?" she asked quietly.

I swallowed nervously, hoping to heaven that I hadn't just ruined everything by opening my big mouth, but something told me that we needed to talk about this. "You were dreaming."

"About...?"

"A room, and...a sword, and this swirling...thing...that looked like a portal into another world or something."

Buffy looked down at her hands and took a deep, shuddery breath. _"I'm over it,"_ she thought. _"I can do this."_ I hesitated, not wanting to upset her, but after a moment she met my eyes again and nodded for me to continue.

Clearing my throat, I said softly, "You were crying."

She licked her lips and then smiled sadly. "That's nothing new. I've cried a lot because of...what happened."

When she didn't elaborate, I brought my hand up to stroke her cheek reassuringly. "You can tell me. You don't have to if it's too hard, but, I'm here for you. You can trust me."

_"I want to. I do."  
_  
"You can," I replied to her unspoken words.

"I killed him," she blurted out, surprising me. "I loved him, but he wasn't..._good_ anymore. He lost his soul and did terrible things to us...to me. Then he opened a portal to hell, and the only way to close it again was with his blood. So, I did what I had to. I sent him to hell on the end of a sword. Only, Willow restored his soul just before I did it - Willow's a witch, by the way - so he was back to himself when it happened. He didn't remember what he had done; he didn't understand why I had to do it. The look in his eyes when I stabbed him...I thought it would haunt me forever."

I swallowed thickly. "Buffy, I...I don't...I'm so sorry you had to..."

"But then," she interrupted, pressing a finger to my lips to silence me, "I met you. And you showed me that it was possible to feel good again - to accept who I am and what I do, and to deal with the past and move on. So I did. I'm happy for the first time in so long, and it feels incredible. Thank you...for helping me get there. I owe you so much. I just wish there was some way to return the favour."

I laughed incredulously. "Are you kidding me? You have no idea what you've done for me, do you? Before you came along, I was this bored, brooding, lonely vampire who didn't think happiness existed for him. But now...I know what it's like to be excited, and to laugh and really mean it, and to just...feel. You've taught me how to live."

"Really?" Buffy asked timidly. "I did all that for you? Wow. I didn't know, but...I'm glad."

"The two of us make quite a pair," I replied with a grin. "There we were, two legends just drifting through life, lost in our own heartache and despair. But then, through some strange twist of fate, we found each other. And without knowing it or even meaning to, we healed."

Buffy tilted her head to the side, a small smile playing on her lips and her eyes shining with what I hoped were happy tears. "That's...beautiful," she whispered, swallowing thickly as her emotions threatened to spill over. "Everything about you is beautiful...inside and out."

I smiled back at her. "You know, if you had said that to me two days ago I would have laughed bitterly and reminded you that my face was just the mask hiding the monster within. Now though, I feel like maybe I do have something good to offer the world. Maybe I am meant for something greater; maybe I'm actually meant to find peace and happiness."

"Of course you are, and you will," Buffy declared. "I can't think of anyone more deserving of happiness than you." Her smile faded and she looked down at her hands, prompting me to gently nudge her chin up with my fingers and look into her eyes imploringly." I just...I wish I could share it with you," she said sadly.

"Me too," I replied softly. "But I think we both know that simply isn't possible."

"Yeah...we'll always have Forks, though."

I chuckled. "That, we will. Come on, let's find you some nourishment and then I'll help you pack up. I can't believe you brought this much stuff for a few days up north!"

Buffy climbed out of bed and brought her hands to her hips, eyeing me in mock offense. "Well excuse me for liking to be prepared! I never know what I'm going to come up against when I'm on the prowl..."

I couldn't help myself. I raised an eyebrow and smirked at her unintended double entendre. Her eyes went wide and her cheeks flushed as she realized what I was getting at. "Oh...Oh! Ugh, you are such a man!" she exclaimed, pretending to be outraged while trying to hold back her giggles.

_Game on._ "I'll take that as a compliment," I retorted, grinning from ear to ear as I leapt from the bed and swept her into my arms, throwing her over my shoulder after a quick kiss of her lips. "Edward hungry. Want Buffy!" I growled caveman style, then proceeded to stomp out of the room and into the kitchen.

Buffy was laughing hysterically as I set her on the counter and began rummaging through the cupboards. "Ok...food for the human... Oh! How about some cereal? Special K?"

"Sure, sounds great," she replied, watching me in amusement as I fumbled with the milk and splashed some on the countertop. I wasn't very practiced in the kitchen. I should probably learn to cook in case the occasion ever arose, I decided. It certainly couldn't hurt.

"Thanks," Buffy said awkwardly as I set the bowl and a spoon down in front of her. "What about you, though? Are you...uh, hungry?"

It had been three days since I'd hunted, but the last thing on my mind right now was my thirst. I had much more important things to attend to. "Oh, I'm hungry, all right, but I'll satisfy my...craving...once you've been fed," I finished with a wink.

"You're insatiable," Buffy breathed, but then her mouth twisted into a wicked grin and she stuffed a heaping spoonful into her mouth.

It was strangely erotic to watch her devour her meal, and I swallowed thickly when she slurped the last bit of milk from the bowl and wiped her lips with her backs of her fingers. _Time for dessert._

I spent the rest of the morning memorizing everything about Buffy – the feel of her warm skin under my fingertips, the sweet and spicy smell that was strongest at the hollow of her throat, the way goosebumps popped up across her belly as I kissed a path down her tender flesh.

Her thoughts told me she was doing the same as her hands roamed my back and she kissed the hard planes of my face, and I marvelled at how it felt to know that someone could feel such intensity for me. That someone like her could care for me, maybe even love me.

I loved her.

I did.

I wasn't_ in_ love with her, but I knew that given the chance, I could have been. I would have been.

I couldn't dwell on 'what if's' and 'should have's' or 'could have's', though, not when we were so close to the end; not when I had to say goodbye. I had to let her go.

Buffy moaned and shuddered against me as we shared the pleasure of our bodies for the very last time, and then I held her close to me, stroking her hair and feeling her heart beat strongly against my chest.

After a time, I looked up at the clock on the wall and noticed that the morning was fast becoming afternoon. "What time is your flight home?" I asked quietly, knowing that our time together was nearly gone.

"Three o'clock," she replied, lifting her head to check the time for herself. "Crap. I guess I'd better get packing. My mom would totally wig if I missed the plane."

I pulled her into a tight embrace, basking in her warmth one last time, and then released her so we could stand from the couch and re-dress. "Okay, let's get's moving then," I sighed.

Considering the insane amount of clothing and weapons she had brought for this short stay, we managed to get everything of hers packed and ready within a reasonable amount of time. I took a quick walk through the now mostly-empty apartment to look for anything we might have missed, and then came back into the bedroom. Buffy's overflowing suitcase was sitting on the bed, and she was sitting on top of it, bouncing up and down while struggling to pull the zipper closed. "Damn it...why...won't...you..._close_?!" she muttered in annoyance.

I grinned in amusement and made my way to her side. "Here, let me help." She took my outstretched hand and climbed down from the suitcase so I could have a go at it. I pressed down gently – well, gently for me – on the top and pulled the zipper closed easily.

"Oh, sure. Why don't you just go ahead and make me look like a complete wuss?" Buffy joked, but then she turned to me with a smile. "Really, though...thanks. I might never have gotten that thing closed without your super-strength. Who knew having a vampire around would come in so handy?"

I snorted at her teasing. "No problem. Do you have any jars that need opening before I go?"

Buffy laughed. "Jars, I can handle, but thanks."

I didn't doubt that she could. Before I met Buffy, I had always thought that humans were weak and fragile creatures, and especially their females. She proved me wrong, though. Buffy was anything but weak, and a far cry from fragile. She was tough and strong, both physically and emotionally. I knew she could handle anything the world threw at her. She would be all right; she would go on. We both would.

A glint of silver caught my eye as I glanced around the room. I moved over to the dresser, reaching behind it to pull out a long silver chain that had half fallen down the back before getting caught on a loose nail.

Buffy gasped as I lifted the necklace and held it with the small crucifix charm dangling in front of my face. "Be careful! That's..."

"Pretty," I replied, dropping it into my palm and turning it over to examine it.

"Pretty..." she breathed. "Right. _Pretty_ - that's exactly what I was going to say." She sounded dazed.

I looked up. "What? Did I miss something? Or say something wrong?"

"Nope. You're just...full of surprises."

"Oh. Ohhh...you mean the cross, right?" I shook my head. "Crosses don't affect me. Neither does holy water for that matter. Or swords, or stakes through the heart."

"Yeah, I learned that last one first hand," Buffy quipped. "As far as I know, there's almost nothing out there that can hurt you."

I smiled sadly, crossing the room to her side and folding the necklace into her hand. "Almost nothing," I repeated, "except for your leaving. That hurts. A lot."

Buffy's lips trembled as tears spilled from her eyes. "I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to..."

"Don't," I said softly, wiping the wetness from her cheeks with my thumbs. I held her face as my mouth sought hers, kissing her gently. "Don't be sorry. As much as it pains me to say goodbye to you, I'm not sorry about anything. You're the best thing that's ever happened to me."

"Ditto," Buffy replied, wrapping her arms around me tightly and looking up into my eyes. "I'll miss you."

"Ditto," I echoed, and we both smiled.

Reluctantly pulling away from our embrace, I picked up her suitcases and carried them to the front door. "Can I drive you to the airport? I can run and get my car..."

"Thanks, but I think I stand a better chance of actually getting on the plane if you're not there," she said.

I understood completely. It was taking every ounce of my strength to make myself walk away. "Okay, well...have a safe trip, and keep in touch."

"I will," she promised.

We both knew that wasn't going to happen, though. We had to move on. Once we had each gone our separate ways, there would be no coming back. We would remember each other fondly, but that was all. This was the end of anything that we might have been.

"Goodbye, Buffy," I said, leaning forward and placing a final kiss on her forehead.

"Goodbye, Edward," she whispered, and then I was gone, closing the door behind me with a soft click.

My feet carried me down the hallway and out into the gloomy Forks day without my even realizing it. I was numb. Despaired. Heartbroken. I made my way through the streets and to the edge of town in a daze, not even feeling my limbs until I walked into the forest and broke into a run.

I ran so fast the trees were a blur as I raced by, even to my keen vampire sight. I wanted leave it all behind, to get as far away from the pain as I could, but of course, it stayed heavy in my dead heart as I jogged to a stop in front of our large house.

Alice was waiting for me. I should have known.

"Hey, Edward," she said as I walked up and sat beside her on the front steps. "You okay?"

"No," I replied honestly.

She nodded and rested her head on my shoulder. "I know, but you will be. There's been a shift in your future."

I watched the vision play out in her mind. A beautiful young brunette was walking into my Biology classroom and sitting down at my table. She smiled at me. I glared at her. She didn't look at me again.

"Alice...what was that?" I asked, confused as to how this could be a good thing. All I got out of what she had seen was that I was a big, fat jerk.

"I'm not sure," she replied, "but it's good. It just..._feels _right. You're going to be happy, Edward. Soon."

"You saw _that_ and have determined my future happiness...but you couldn't have given me some kind of warning about the girl who just turned my life upside down and righted it all in the same day?" I asked incredulously.

"Ugh. Don't even get me started on that!" Alice grumbled. "Something as huge as the _Slayer_ coming to Forks and I don't see even one little speck of it beforehand? That's just not right, Edward. It's not right at all. And to make things worse, I completely lost any sight of you when you were with her. It seriously freaked me out. I was so relieved to finally see you on your way home."

"Don't sweat it, short stuff," I teased. "Buffy is a force unlike anything I've ever seen. I'm sure she has all kinds of defences and tricks up her sleeve."

Alice sat up straight and her head whipped around to meet my gaze. "Defences? Oh my goodness, that's it! She must have some kind of block that I couldn't see around because I'm a vampire! Yes! That makes so much sense! I have to go talk to Carlisle!" She kissed me quickly on the cheek before disappearing into the house, one last thought reaching me as she ran up the stairs. _"Thanks, Edward!"_

I smiled and leaned back against the step, replaying the vision of the brunette girl over and over in my mind. Alice said I was going to be happy soon, and somehow my happiness was linked to her. I watched again as she walked into the classroom and smiled as she sat down beside me, only this time I imagined myself grinning back and politely introducing myself.

Yes, that was better.

* * *

**A/N: EPOV has been brought to you by the ever insane maniacalmuse :) **

**When Sherri and I first spoke about me writing an Edward/ Buffy story for her, she told me she wanted to see how he would react to a tough, strong, confident girl rather than one who was pitifully shy and constantly in need of rescue. So I thought about her idea for a while, and eventually decided that if that was what she was looking for, then this story would need to be told as closely to canon as possible. I then took Sherri's idea to my soul-sister, AngelGoddess1981, and not only was she was right on board with my vision, she agreed that this story was the perfect opportunity for us to finally collaborate! Since Sherri had bid on one-shots from both of us in the FGB author auction, so we asked how she would feel about getting a co-authored multi-chapter story rather than two separate little ones. Much to our delight, she agreed! We plotted the story out right then and there, and Lost Legends was born! **

**My main vision for Lost Legends was to create a "what if" situation in where Edward and Buffy cross paths in their respective canon universes. Obviously, being pre-Twilight, Edward had yet to meet Bella and therefore was reacting to his feelings for a woman (Buffy) for the first time. Only in this case, rather than falling for the ridiculously meek, shy and accident-prone Bella, he was faced with a girl who was tough as nails and not afraid to kick ass first and take names later. (Not to mention her Slayer strength and quick healing.) **

**Now, I know that most of you are probably disappointed that Edward and Buffy didn't run off into the sunset holding hands while bunnies and unicorns dashed after them (I'm looking at you, Sherri ;)) but let me tell you why we didn't go that route with this story. It just didn't feel right to us. Writing a crossover was fun, but with the way we stuck so closely to their canon personalities, locations, timelines, etc...it just didn't make sense to us to have them end up together. That wasn't their fates. To us, this story was more of an interlude in their respective universes. **

**So with all that in mind, how do you think their meeting and short relationship might have affected how he viewed and handled his feelings for Bella? Would everything in the Twilight series have gone the same way, or would his newfound outlook on life have changed things? I'm very interested to know your thoughts regarding my idea, so please, please, please review!! **

******AngelinaBallerina17...I can't even express how touched I was that you would pay good money to an incredible cause just to have me spew my nonsense for you. I sincerely hope you're happy with how Lost Legends played out, and that I'll continue to see you around the FFdom! **It's been an absolute blast writing and sharing this story with all of you. Major thanks to everyone who read and reviewed along the way, and endless love to AG1981 for being everything that she is! I love you forever, Ang! 

**As always - Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

**xoxo,**

**maniacalmuse**

"_**Grrr...Argh!" ;)**_


	12. Chapter 12

**A/N: Twilight belongs to Stephenie Meyer. Buffy the Vampire Slayer belongs to Joss Whedon. All we own is a wicked obsession with both.**

**For AngelinaBallerina17…forever.**

* * *

_**(Buffy)**_

I jolted in my seat as a voice boomed overhead. "Flight 217, Sunnydale, California; now boarding." I took one last look around the tiny terminal, wishfully thinking that maybe Edward had changed his mind and would come with me. In fact, I found myself almost bailing on my flight altogether and saying to hell with my destiny...but I knew it wasn't that easy. A Slayer's work was never done, and I couldn't just dump my responsibilities on my friends and family.

Not again, anyway.

I walked through the automatic doors and into the slight drizzle where the teensy plane was waiting to carry me safely home. I hoped. That was the problem with small-town airports: you always had to fly on those tiny, rickety things that seemed to shake and make an obscene amount of noise in even the slightest turbulence.

I took a window seat and rested my head against the cushiony headrest as I waited for take-off, my mind drifting back to my final moments with Edward. It killed me that we didn't have more time together, but I had a destiny to fulfill and I knew he had his own life here.

This was right.

The flight wasn't an overly long one, which was nice since I was a terrible flier.

Yeah, Buffy Summers: killer extraordinaire of all things that go bump in the night is terrified of flying. Go figure.

By the time we touched down at the small, almost non-existent Sunnydale airport—which seemed more like JFK compared to Forks'—I felt a little bit better. When I stepped off the plane and into the sunlight, I could smell the salt from the ocean wafting through the air, and my skin soaked up the rays as they beat down on my face.

Excitement and joy consumed me as I passed through the doors to the main terminal and saw a familiar face. I could feel my smile stretch from ear to ear, and my heart strained in my chest. My feet took off running before I could even think.

"Mom!" I threw myself into her arms and held her as tight as I could without crushing her. Sure, it had only been a little over a week since I had left, but that was just too long to go without my mommy.

"Hi, honey. How was your flight?" she asked, holding me tightly.

I withdrew from the embrace and looked into her sparkling eyes. "Bumpy," I informed her. "I'm putting a word in with the Council for a private jet." We turned toward the luggage conveyer belt, mom keeping one arm wrapped tightly around my shoulder as we walked, and I continued my incoherent babbling. "They want me to save the world from unspeakable evil? I wanna travel comfy. It's really not too much to ask."

With my bags in tow, Mom and I made our way to the car and headed for home. As we drove through downtown Sunnydale, Mom was busy telling me about the new exhibit she was in charge of.

"I think you'd really enjoy it, Buffy. I know the museum stuff has never really been your thing..."

"Now, Mom, that's entirely un-true. That Madame Tussand's wax museum with the life-like Brad Pitt is exactly my cup of tea," I corrected her.

She laughed. "All right, fair enough. But I'm being entirely serious here. In the early nineteen-twenties, he found his most enigmatic subject in the modern American woman during the influx of them in the working world." She turned to look at me. "And I figured you, of all people, could appreciate something as socially dynamic as that. Edward Hopper's work was—" I gasped at the artist's name, and I felt a tug at my heart as I blinked back the tears that stung my eyes.

She quickly turned to look at me. "Buffy? What's wrong?"

I gave her a small smile. "I'm sorry. No, I'm fine. I just really missed you," I told her.

She eyed me skeptically. "You're sure?" I nodded my reply. With her eyes refocused on the road I was able to get my emotions back under control. "Oh! Before I forget, we have a meeting with Principal Snyder the day after tomorrow to discuss your reinstatement." Mom's eyes never left the road as she navigated her way through the abandoned streets. "Since the last time we've met with that angry little man, I've spoken to the school board and everything is in place. But he still seems to think what he has to say matters."

"Okay," I said quietly as I stared out the window. It wasn't long before we pulled into our driveway.

"Home sweet home." Mom put the car into park and we climbed out. I headed around back for my luggage. "Oh, why don't you let me grab those? Go inside and rest up for a bit," Mom offered.

With a small laugh, I looked at her. "Mom, I have a year's worth of clothes in two suitcases. I think you're seriously underestimating just how many times I had to sit, jump, stuff, and jump some more before Eeehh…_I_ was able to get it zipped." I felt my cheeks burn with my almost-mention of Edward. She looked at me suspiciously and I quickly turned away. "Plus, Slayer strength came with the enrollment package," I joked as I opened the hatch and pulled my luggage easily from the vehicle.

"Maybe so, but I think she wanted you inside so we could all hop out and yell 'surprise'."

I jerked toward the familiar male voice and let out the girliest of all screams. "Xander! Oh my gosh!" I pulled him into a hug. "Ugh! I've missed you so much!"

As I peered over his shoulder I saw Willow flanked by Oz, Cordelia and Giles. Tears streamed from my eyes as I let go of Xander and rushed toward Willow. We giggled uncontrollably as we hugged, both of us simultaneously talking a mile a minute and yet still understanding everything the other was saying. It was a girl thing.

"Buffy," Cordelia spoke up. "You look...well, you've looked better. Your skin is pale and your hair is in dire need of a deep conditioning." Her tone was friendly enough, and it was good to see her lack of tact was still firmly in place. It wasn't like I expected a hug from her, but anything a little less "Cordelia-esque" would have been a welcome change.

I raised a single eyebrow at her and smiled. "Thanks? It's good to see you, too."

My eyes travelled to Oz and Giles, who had hung back on the porch. Always a man of very few, monosyllabic words, Oz gave a very characteristic head nod to welcome me back, while Giles offered a wave.

"You guys, this is so great! I missed you all so much," I exclaimed, fighting back more tears of happiness.

"We missed you too, Buff," Xander said with a grunt. I turned to look at him as he attempted to hoist one of my gigantic suitcases. "Holy crap! What did you do? Stuff a body in here?"

I rolled my eyes and rushed to his aid as he struggled. I grabbed the handles of both suitcases and easily picked them up off the ground and took them inside.

"Pffft. I was just getting warmed up," Xander scoffed in an effort to fluff his male pride.

"I know Xand, but I wanted them inside this side of today," I teased.

When I stepped through the front door I let out a sigh of contentment. I was home. I quickly put my luggage in my room before joining all of my friends downstairs. We sat around talking for hours until the sun started to set and everyone had to start heading for home. Oz was the first to go since he had band practice that night, and Willow assured him she would find a way home later.

"Okay, well I'm not allowed on school property until the day after tomorrow when mom and I talk to His Ugliness. So, I'm thinking tomorrow we picnic just across the street. I'll bring the yummies, you all just have to show up and eat," I said as we all stood in the doorway

"Oooh! Picnic!" Xander exclaimed, rubbing his hands together.

I laughed and watched as he and Cordelia headed for her car before I turned to my mother. "Mom, would it be all right if I walked Willow home? I need to get a little patrolling in tonight anyway."

"Yeah, of course. Be safe," she said.

"I will!" I called after me as I pulled Willow from the house.

We walked down the street and toward the cemetery, all the while Willow filling me in on the gossip around school. "So Harmony allegedly went to Paris for the summer and is now dating this guy named Pierre. She's been flashing his picture all around school, but I swear it's just the guy that comes in most of the frames in every major department store," Willow said before we burst into laughter.

As I gasped for air I responded, "I can't even say I am at all surprised. I mean, you'd have to either be deaf or undead to be involved with her."

We walked through the main gate into the old cemetery and began winding slowly between the gravestones, scoping out the ground for any fresh graves. I pulled out a stake and handed it to Willow before gripping Mr. Pointy in my right hand—merely a precaution.

"So, how was Forks?" Willow asked quietly as we scanned the darkness.

"Rainy, but it definitely had its perks," I said with a sly smile and a faint blush that was hidden in the night. "I'm glad to be home again, though."

"And Edward? How's he? Are you guys going to stay in touch?" Willow prodded, bumping me with her elbow. She smiled at me playfully, sticking the tip of her tongue between her teeth and wrinkling her nose like she always did.

"I don't know." I smiled fondly at the memories of last night and this morning. "Edward's…_good_ would be a serious lack of just how great he really is, Will." I pulled her toward one of the old concrete benches outside the DuLac mausoleum where we sat down. "It's weird, after everything with Angel I figured I would never be able to really _live_ again, you know?

Willow shrugged. "Well you were kind of mopey, but we all understood why and would never pressure you."

I sighed. "I know that. Honestly, I don't know that I can even explain what I felt when I was with Edward." I thought back to what he had told me. "He said I was lost in heartache and despair…that we both were, actually…and that somehow fate led us to one another. Then, without meaning to, we helped each other heal."

I flipped Mr. Pointy back and forth between my hands as I continued. "I'm going to miss him, but I think I'm finally ready to move on," I said quietly, talking mainly about Angel, but realizing that my words also pertained to how I felt about Edward.

"So, you guys just ended things?" Willow inquired.

I nodded solemnly. "Yeah. It was the right thing to do, though. I mean, I have my life here and he has his there. It's fine. We accepted the way things had to be and we're…_happy_."

Willow smiled wide and pulled me into her arms. "Then I'm happy you're happy. No one deserves it more than you, Buffy."

Suddenly there was a low growl from behind me. "Hold that thought," I said before jumping to my feet and fighting with my newfound zest for life.

I was back.

It had been a week since my arrival back in Sunnydale and a lot had happened.

I was reinstated at school and doing a ton of make-up tests to try and catch up. The new slayer showed up, and while she was a handful, I felt better having someone to watch my back day after day. Oh, and Scott Hope had asked me out, and more importantly, I accepted. It was time for me to move on and get as much of the normal back that I could.

There was only one more thing I had to do before that was possible.

I stood at the end of the long, winding path to the now-abandoned mansion, breathing steadily as I prepared myself for this. I held my clenched hands in front of me and fought back the tears that were associated with the last time I was here.

"You can do this. You have to do this. It's time to let him go," I told myself.

With a deep breath, I took my first step forward onto the property. I pushed the heavy front door open and stared at the charred marking on the ground from the spot I had slain Angel and sent him to Hell. With a shaky breath, I walked toward it and stopped in the centre. A single tear fell from the inner corner of my eye as I opened my right hand and looked at the Claddagh ring that he had given to me as a token of his love.

I kneeled down and placed the ring on the floor. "Goodbye," I whispered to the room, and when I stood, it felt as though an enormous weight had been lifted from my shoulders. I took a quiet moment of reflection before exiting the mansion.

As I walked off the property, there was a flash that lit up the sky and I inhaled in hopes of catching a scent of the oncoming rain, only to find nothing. I couldn't even be disappointed, though, because the burden of my past had finally been set free. I smiled and made my way to State Street to meet Scott at the Film Festival.

It's funny, you know? Sometimes, when you least expect it, the happiness you thought you'd once lost just shows up again. Almost as though it materialized from thin air and dropped from the Heavens…

* * *

**A/N: BPOV brought to you by AngelGoddess1981 :)**

**Well, what can I say about this amazing journey?**

**When maniacalmuse first approached me with the idea of a crossover it was first just asking my opinion on what I thought. Of course, being a die-hard Buffy fan since the movie came out in 1991 (Yes, I realize that dates me, but whatevs) and the series debuted in 1997, I was super pumped for this story to be born.**

**Then, upon further discussion, we realized that Sherri not only bid on a story by muse, but also one of mine in the auction…so we talked about it some more and then asked Sherri how she'd feel about us teaming up and tag-teaming the hell out of these characters, and possibly expanding it into a multi-chaptered short story.**

**We were beyond thrilled when she said yes!**

**So, weekly play-dates (for our kids :P) also became weekly plotting sessions to create this world. Upon further plot development, I posed the question "Well, if Edward is going to be canon, why don't we make Buffy canon…but post-Angel Slayage?" I knew I had her, because, let's face it, muse: you like your angst…and this promised to have little bits thrown in. We didn't want it to overpower our story, but to be just enough to grip our hearts and have us remember that anguished look on the face of our first leading vampire for 8 years when Buffy sent him to Hell.**

**For those of you that followed the television show, you may have noticed that this story took place between the Season 3 episodes **_**Dead Man's Party**_** and **_**Faith, Hope and Trick.**_

**Why did we choose to place the story in the Buffyverse when we did?**

**First:**** Buffy was in a really dark place after killing Angel in **_**Becoming**_**, and I was curious to explore how meeting Edward could have helped her through that pain. Would she be closed off emotionally from any and all relationships? How easy would it be to break down that wall that she had carefully built around her emotions?**

**Second:**** After having dealt with Angel and his curse, how would she react to meeting a vampire that wasn't born void a soul, but instead lived his life in denial of the obvious truth?**

**Third:**** It worked with the High School timeline. That was important. muse knew she wanted this to be pre-Twilight, and I wanted them to meet at the same "point" in their lives (even if Edward is 80 years Buffy's senior ;)). Plus with Buffy being expelled from SHS for her delinquent behavior, it was easy enough to transfer her to get a head-start on catching her up before her mom got her re-instated by the California school board (you know, because Snyder was a "tiny impotent Nazi with a bug up his butt the size of an emu" :P).**

**Now that you're all in the know on the ins and outs behind our story-planning process, how do you think their meeting and whirlwind relationship would have affected Buffy in the series? Would she have been a little less leery of men that were interested in her shortly after Angel (Scott Hope)? More intuitive to the intentions of the less worthy ones later on (Parker Abrahms)? Would she have been more willing to admit her true feelings for Riley Finn before it was too late? I would love to hear each and every one of your thoughts regarding my thought process.**

**Huge thanks to all of you who read and reviewed our first ever collaboration! This won't be the last, either!**

**maniacalmuse…there aren't words to describe just how much fun I had writing this with you! I am so glad that we could tackle this story together, and you are not only my soul-mate in life, but also in fiction :P. I love you, and couldn't imagine my life without you. **

**As always - Thanks for reading!! Please review!!**

**xoxo,**

**AngelGoddess1981**

"**Grrr...Argh!" ;)**


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